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Published on: April 26, 2019
Faecal calprotectin concentrations and diagnosis of necrotising enterocolitis
Daniel Carroll1, Anthony Corfield, Richard Spicer
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children, BS2 8BJ, Bristol, UK. danderosier@doctors.org.uk
Insights
Faecal calprotectin shows promise as a biomarker for diagnosing necrotising enterocolitis in preterm infants. Elevated levels in infants with necrotising enterocolitis suggest gastrointestinal mucosal inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal medicine
- Gastroenterology
- Biomarker research
Background:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) diagnosis in children often utilizes calprotectin.
- Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious condition affecting preterm infants.
- Early diagnosis of NEC is crucial for effective management and improved outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of fecal calprotectin as a diagnostic aid for necrotising enterocolitis in preterm neonates.
- To assess if fecal calprotectin levels differ between preterm infants with NEC and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study was conducted involving preterm infants with clinical suspicion of NEC.
- Fecal calprotectin concentrations were measured in patients at diagnosis and compared to matched controls.
- Statistical analysis (p-value) was used to determine the significance of differences.
Main Results:
- Patients diagnosed with NEC exhibited significantly higher fecal calprotectin concentrations (288.4 mg/L) compared to matched controls (98.0 mg/L).
- The difference in fecal calprotectin levels was statistically significant (p=0.0006).
Conclusions:
- Fecal calprotectin may serve as a valuable non-invasive biomarker for gastrointestinal mucosal inflammation in neonates.
- This finding supports the potential use of fecal calprotectin in aiding the diagnosis of NEC in preterm infants.
Abstract:
Calprotectin has been proposed as a useful marker of inflammatory bowel disease in children. We did a pilot study to establish whether it can be used to aid diagnosis of necrotising enterocolitis in preterm infants. Patients with clinical features of necrotising enterocolitis had raised faecal calprotectin concentrations at the time of diagnosis compared with matched controls (288.4 mg/L [SD 49.1] and 98.0 mg/L [60.6], respectively; p=0.0006). Faecal calprotectin might be a useful marker of gastrointestinal mucosal inflammation in neonates.
