title: Can calprotectin predict relapse risk in inflammatory bowel disease?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assessing the clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients consists of periodical clinical evaluations and laboratory tests. We aimed to assess the role of calprotectin tests in predicting clinical relapse in IBD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-seven patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 65 with Crohn's disease (CD) in clinical remission were prospectively included in the study. A 10-g stool sample was collected for calprotectin assay. The cutoff level was set at 130 mg/kg of feces. Patients were followed up for 1 yr after the test or until relapse. The cumulative proportion of relapses was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Statistics for equality of survival distribution were tested using the log-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The calprotectin test was positive in 44 UC patients and 26 of them relapsed within a year, while 11 of 53 UC patients with a negative calprotectin test relapsed within the same time frame. Thirty CD patients had a positive calprotectin test and 13 of them relapsed within a year, as did 7 of the 35 with a negative test result. A significant correlation emerged between a positive calprotectin test and the probability of relapse in UC patients (P= 0.000). In CD patients, only cases of colonic CD showed a significant correlation between a positive calprotectin test and the probability of relapse, i.e., 6 colonic CD patients were positive for the calprotectin test and 4 relapsed (P= 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measuring calprotectin may help to identify UC and colonic CD patients at higher risk of clinical relapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Incà
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dal Pont
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Leo
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benazzato
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinato
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lamboglia
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.forename: Giacomo Carlo
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Sturniolo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex