Evaluation of the Role of Serum Calprotectin in the Follow Up of Egyptian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

Abstract Background The term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes disorders in which the intestines be inflamed. It has often been thought that they are due to an autoimmune disease. Two major types of IBD are ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). UC is limited to the colon. CD can involve every part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. Objective To compare between serum and faecal calprotectin regarding their role in follow up of disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Patients and Methods An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 25 patients admitted to Tropical medicine department, Ain Shams University Hospitals. Results Calprotectin is highly resistant to proteolysis and can hold in the stool sample for up to 7 days at room temperature. Higher levels of serum calprotectin were linked to a severe inflammatory state in the colon as well as significant clinical symptoms in UC patients. Also, serum calprotectin, CRP, and ESR levels were compared to IBD activity and it was detected that serum calprotectin levels had more sensitivity and specificity than CRP and ESR in identifying IBD activity. Serum calprotectin levels in patients with IBD activity either UC or CD groups, were considerably more than in remission. SC and FC levels were higher levels in clinically active IBD comparing with inactive IBD. Conclusion Serum calprotectin levels are higher in patients with IBD and are related to clinical activity. High serum calprotectin levels can distinguish between patients who are clinically active and those who are in remission in both UC and CD groups. Our findings show that serum calprotectin may be a promising simple diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for IBD however more research is needed to reach a judgment in this regard.