Recommendations of the Spanish Working Group on Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (GETECCU) on the utility of the determination of faecal calprotectin in inflammatory bowel disease

Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018 Oct;41(8):514-529. doi: 10.1016/j.gastrohep.2018.05.029. Epub 2018 Jul 4.
[Article in English, Spanish]

Abstract

The management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is currently based on the objective evaluation of intestinal lesions. It would therefore be interesting to have access to simple and non-invasive tools to monitor IBD activity and to identify the presence of lesions. Faecal calprotectin (FC) is the main cytosolic protein of neutrophils, it is resistant to bacterial degradation and it is stable at room temperature for several days, characteristics that make it suitable for use in clinical practice. It can be used to differentiate between inflammatory and functional processes, it correlates with endoscopic activity, it is associated with clinical and endoscopic response to treatment and it has short-term prognostic value. This paper offers an up-to-date perspective on the information that FC can provide clinicians to aid diagnosis, monitoring and management of IBD.

Keywords: Calprotectin; Calprotectina; Colitis ulcerosa; Crohn's disease; Endoscopic remission; Enfermedad de Crohn; Histological remission; Postsurgical recurrence; Recurrencia posquirúrgica; Remisión endoscópica; Remisión histológica; Ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

  • Practice Guideline

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • Chromatography, Affinity
  • Colitis / diagnosis
  • Crohn Disease / diagnosis
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Disease Management
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Feces / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Inflammation
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / analysis*
  • Neutrophils / metabolism
  • Prognosis
  • Recurrence
  • Specimen Handling

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex