Usefulness of fecal calprotectin determination in pediatric intestinal diseases
Chiara Rosso1, Gian P Caviglia, Rinaldo Pellicano
1Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy - caviglia.giampi@libero.it.
Insights
Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a valuable biomarker for diagnosing and monitoring pediatric gastrointestinal inflammation. Its levels help differentiate inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) from other conditions in children.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Background:
- Calprotectin, a calcium-binding protein S100 family member, is released by leukocytes during inflammation.
- It is detectable in feces, remaining stable for approximately one week.
- Elevated fecal calprotectin (FC) levels are indicative of inflammatory conditions, particularly inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent findings on the utility of FC in pediatric gastroenterology.
- To summarize the role of FC in diagnosing and managing various pediatric gastrointestinal conditions.
- To highlight FC's application in evaluating treatment response.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent studies on fecal calprotectin in pediatric patients.
- Analysis of FC's role in differentiating inflammatory and non-inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders.
- Evaluation of FC as a biomarker for diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy response.
Main Results:
- FC is increasingly important in pediatric gastroenterology for assessing gastrointestinal inflammation.
- Evidence supports FC use in diagnosing and managing IBD, colitis (lymphocytic, eosinophilic, nonspecific), and necrotizing enterocolitis.
- FC aids in monitoring disease activity and response to treatment in pediatric patients.
Conclusions:
- Fecal calprotectin is a key biomarker in pediatric gastroenterology for various gastrointestinal conditions.
- Further research is needed to establish optimal FC cut-off values for children under five years old.
- FC facilitates diagnosis, follow-up, and therapy evaluation in pediatric gastrointestinal diseases.
Abstract:
Calprotectin is a heterodimeric protein which belongs to the calcium-binding protein S100 family. Calprotectin is released by leukocytes at the site of inflammation and it can be detected in the feces where it remains stable for about a week. Hence, increased fecal calprotectin (FC) levels are found in several inflammatory conditions, mainly the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In the setting of pediatric gastroenterology, the importance of FC has increased over time. This review aims to summarize the most recent findings concerning the role of FC in the algorithm of different inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions among pediatric patients. Increasing evidences support the use of this biomarker for diagnosis, follow-up and evaluation of response to therapy of several pediatric gastrointestinal diseases, ranging from IBD to lymphocytic/ eosinophilic/ and nonspecific colitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. More efforts should be done to clarify the optimal cut-off of FC levels in patients younger than 5 years.
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