Serum calprotectin level: is it a novel diagnostic biomarker for chronic inflammatory bowel diseases?

Abstract

Objective This study aims to evaluate serum calprotectin level and its utility as a novel biomarker and its relation to endoscopic and other biomarkers for the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Background Calprotectin is a marker of neutrophil activation that has been reported to be elevated in the blood and feces of patients with active IBD. Fecal calprotectin has been studied as a potential biomarker for IBD due to its noninvasive nature and low cost. Patients and methods This study was conducted on 80 subjects recruited from the gastrointestinal endoscopy unit, outpatient clinic of gastroenterology of Menoufia University Hospitals and El Mahalla General Hospital during the period from March 2017 to September 2018. Full history taking, full examination, and laboratory investigations were done. Results Serum calprotectin levels were significantly increased in Crohn's disease than each of the ulcerative colitis group and were significantly higher in ulcerative colitis than each of inflammatory bowel syndrome and healthy control groups. Also, it was significantly higher in IBD than inflammatory bowel syndrome and healthy control groups. In IBD patients, serum calprotectin levels showed significant negative correlations with serum albumin and creatinine and positive correlations with C-reactive protein (CRP) and disease activity index (DAI). Also, serum albumin showed significant negative correlations with CRP and DAI and positive correlation with serum creatinine. Also, CRP levels showed significant positive correlation with DAI. According to the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, serum calprotectin was the most sensitive and specific markers for the diagnosis of IBD patients, followed by serum CRP at the corresponding cutoff points. The least sensitive marker was serum albumin. Conclusion Serum calprotectin is a promising blood-based biomarker for the diagnosis of IBD and mainly in Crohn's disease patients particularly in addition to another biomarkers like CRP and Fecal calprotectin (FC).