Neutrophil volume distribution width as a new marker in detecting inflammatory bowel disease activation

We sought to investigate the value of neutrophil volume distribution width in detecting inflammatory bowel disease activation.

Patients with infection and accompanying inflammatory disease were excluded. All the patients were diagnosed and classified according to Porto criteria and Paris classification, respectively. Physician global assessment, pediatric Crohn's disease and pediatric ulcerative colitis activity indexes and fecal calprotectin were used to define disease activation.

A total of 34 pediatric patients with Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and 29 controls were enrolled in the study. Neutrophil volume distribution width (NVDW) was significantly higher in patients with IBD compared to healthy controls (P < 0.001). An increased NVDW level was observed in IBD patients in activation (22.42 ± 2.13) compared to those in remission (19.22 ± 1.63) (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between IBD patients in remission and healthy controls. The best cutoff of NVDW for prediction of disease activation in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in this series was 20.39 with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 75% (AUC: 0.852 CI: 0.698-1.000 P < 0.001) and 19.74 with a sensitivity of 92.9% and a specificity of 90.9% (AUC: 0.961, CI: 0.889-1.000, P < 0.001), respectively.

As a quantitative, objective, and sensitive parameter, we believe that the NVDW has a potential to be an additional test detecting disease activation in IBD.