Fecal calprotectin levels used as a noninvasive method for screening for chronic gastritis in pediatric patients. A descriptive study.

Fatma Demirbaş,Gönül Çaltepe,Hasan Abbasguliyev,Ayhan Gazi Kalaycı

doi:10.1590/1516-3180.2020.0765.r1.0904221

Abstract

Gastritis consists of inflammation of the gastric mucosa and is one of the main causes of dyspeptic symptoms in children. To investigate the presence of inflammation by evaluating fecal calprotectin (FC) in children diagnosed with chronic gastritis. Descriptive study in Pediatric Gastroenterology Department of Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital in Turkey. Between January 2016 and July 2018, FC levels were compared retrospectively in children with chronic gastritis (histopathology-based diagnosis), patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and healthy children. A total of 67 chronic gastritis patients (61.2% girls) with a mean age of 13.09 ± 3.5 years were evaluated. The mean FC levels were 153.4 μg/g in the chronic gastritis group, 589.7 μg/g in the IBD group and 43.8 μg/g in the healthy group. These levels were higher in chronic gastritis patients than in healthy individuals (P = 0.001) and higher in IBD patients than in the other two groups (P < 0.001). The FC level in the patients with chronic active gastritis (156.3 μg/g) was higher than in those with chronic inactive gastritis (150.95 μg/g) (P = 0.011). Among the patients with chronic active gastritis, the FC level was significantly higher in Helicobacter pylori-positive individuals than in negative individuals (P = 0.031). We confirmed the association between increased FC and chronic gastritis. Elevated FC levels may be seen in patients with chronic active gastritis. In order to be able to use FC as a screening tool for chronic gastritis, further studies in a larger study group are needed.

Highlights

Gastritis, which consists of inflammation of the gastric mucosa against various factors, is one of the most important reasons for dyspeptic symptoms in children.[1]
In agreement with the data presented in the literature, our results in this study showed that the gastric inflammation was correlated with the Helicobacter pylori infection.[27]
We found higher fecal calprotectin (FC) levels in patients with chronic active gastritis than in patients with chronic inactive gastritis

Summary

Introduction

Gastritis, which consists of inflammation of the gastric mucosa against various factors, is one of the most important reasons for dyspeptic symptoms in children.[1]. The diagnosis of chronic gastritis depends on histopathological findings.[2] It is defined as an inflammatory infiltrate in the lamina propria, within the epithelium and foveolar lumen.[3] Defects of mucosal protective barriers and disruption of the balance between the mucosal barriers and acid and pepsin levels play a role in the pathogenesis of gastritis.[4] Intense neutrophilic infiltration in chronic gastritis can lead to erosion of the cytoplasm and destruction of epithelial cells This can lead to mucosal ulcers that can cause tissue loss at levels ranging from the superficial to the submucosal layers.[2]. In order to be able to use FC as a screening tool for chronic gastritis, further studies in a larger study group are needed

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion