Is there a correlation between serum and faecal calprotectin levels and the disease severity in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis? A pilot study

Introduction: The role of calprotectin in psoriasis still remains unclear.

Aim: To elucidate the associations between the concentrations of serum and faecal calprotectin (CP) and the severity of psoriasis in 20 patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and 20 healthy individuals.

Material and methods: The CP levels as well as the disease severity including Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Body Surface Area (BSA) score and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were assessed.

Results: The median serum CP level in the psoriasis group was notably higher at 112.24 μg/l (interquartile range, IQR: 81.39-206.82 μg/l) compared to 60.31 μg/l (IQR: 37.41-81.54 μg/l) in the control group (p = 0.001), while the median faecal CP levels were similar between the two groups: 15.00 μg/g (IQR: 6.20-36.13 μg/g) in psoriasis patients and 13.00 μg/g (IQR: 10.26-30.15 μg/g) in controls (p = 0.766). No significant correlations between serum and faecal CP level and the PASI, BSA and DLQI were found.

Conclusions: Despite the fact that patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis seem to present general higher blood calprotectin levels than healthy individuals, they are still within the population cut-off value. The elevated blood calprotectin levels are not conclusively linked to increased severity of psoriasis or to the deterioration in quality of life. Also, in individuals with psoriasis, gastrointestinal inflammation does not differ markedly from healthy controls.