Does faecal calprotectin differentiate between inflammatory bowel disease colitis and non-inflammatory bowel disease colitides?

Introduction: Chronic colitis is a major problem worldwide with high morbidity. Causes of chronic colitis are heterogeneous. A cut-off level of faecal calprotectin to predict inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as a cause of chronic colitis is lacking.

Aim: To study the level of faecal calprotectin in different causes of colitis and to measure the cut-off level to differentiate between IBD and non-IBD colitides.

Material and methods: This prospective study was conducted from June 2018 to May 2019. The study included all patients aged 2 months up to 18 years who were confirmed to have chronic colitis endoscopically and histopathologically attending the Gastroenterology Clinic at Alexandria University Children's Hospital. Faecal calprotectin level was measured.

Results: We included 110 patients. Allergic colitis was the commonest cause followed by IBD followed by infectious colitis (50.9%, 38.1% and 6.3% respectively). Faecal calprotectin above 744 µg/g could predict IBD as a cause of chronic colitis with 86.8% specificity and 66.7% sensitivity. Significant elevation of faecal calprotectin was detected in IBD patients. Faecal calprotectin was significantly correlated with C-reactive protein level and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Conclusions: Faecal calprotectin could predict the cause of colitis and could aid the paediatrician for early referral of patients with chronic colitis.