What disease does Fecal Calprotectin (FC) help to detect?

From the Guidelines

Fecal calprotectin is a useful surrogate marker for detecting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), specifically Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, by measuring the level of inflammatory activity in the intestinal tract. This is based on the recent guidelines from the British Society of Gastroenterology, which suggest that fecal calprotectin correlates well with endoscopic inflammation in both UC and Crohn’s disease 1. The test is particularly useful for confirming active inflammation and can be a non-invasive alternative to flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy and cross-sectional imaging.

Some key points to consider when using fecal calprotectin to detect IBD include:

• A calprotectin cut-off of 50 μg/g has been shown to have the best sensitivity (90.6%) to detect endoscopically active disease 1
• A threshold of 250 μg/g provides better specificity (82%) than thresholds of 100 μg/g and 50 μg/g in differentiating active IBD from remission 1
• Fecal calprotectin is not entirely specific to IBD and can be elevated in other conditions like intestinal infections, colorectal cancer, or with use of certain medications like NSAIDs, so clinical correlation is always necessary

Overall, fecal calprotectin is a valuable tool for detecting and monitoring IBD, particularly in patients with symptoms suggestive of active inflammation, and can help clinicians make informed decisions about treatment and management 1.

From the Research

Fecal Calprotectin and Disease Detection

Fecal calprotectin is a useful biomarker for detecting various diseases, particularly those related to intestinal inflammation. The following diseases can be detected using fecal calprotectin:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Ulcerative colitis (UC) 2, 4, 5
• Crohn's disease (CD) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Infectious enteritis 5
• Colorectal cancer 5
• Pouchitis 3

Disease Activity and Fecal Calprotectin

Fecal calprotectin levels correlate with disease activity and can be used to:

• Predict relapses in IBD patients 3
• Detect mucosal healing in UC patients 2
• Monitor response to treatment in IBD patients 3, 4, 5, 6
• Differentiate IBD from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 3, 5, 6

Clinical Applications of Fecal Calprotectin

Fecal calprotectin has several clinical applications, including:

• Noninvasive diagnosis of IBD 3, 4, 5, 6
• Monitoring of disease activity and response to treatment in IBD patients 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Differentiation between IBD and IBS 3, 5, 6
• Detection of intestinal inflammation in various diseases 5