title: Rapid faecal tests for detecting disease activity in colonic inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing numbers of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have raised the need for a rapid noninvasive means to monitor disease activity. We validated two rapid tests for faecal calprotectin and one for faecal lactoferrin and compared them to the most common clinical and endoscopic scores, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) calprotectin test and systemic inflammation markers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical and endoscopic disease activity of 72 patients with colonic IBD, who underwent ileocolonoscopy, was determined. The patients provided stool samples to measure calprotectin and lactoferrin, and blood samples to measure systemic inflammation markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rapid calprotectin tests correlated significantly with clinical and endoscopic indices and standard ELISA calprotectin in ulcerative colitis, but not in Crohn's disease. CalDetect correlated more closely with ELISA calprotectin than CerTest FC in concentrations exceeding 200 μg/g. CalDetect was also more sensitive in indicating histological remission or mild disease than was CerTest FC at cut-off of 200 μg/g. CerTest Lactoferrin was comparable to CalDetect in their correlation with clinical, endoscopic and histological scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These rapid tests are suitable for identifying patients with inactive or mildly active disease, but as semiquantitative or qualitative tests, they cannot totally replace ELISA calprotectin in decision-making related to therapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. anna-maija.puolanne@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Anna-Maija
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Puolanne
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kaija-Leena
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kolho
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alfthan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, HUSLAB and Haartman Institute, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ristimäki
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Biomedicum Helsinki, Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mustonen
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Martti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Färkkilä
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000378:metabolism; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000067716:Point-of-Care Testing; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex; D007781:Lactoferrin
keywords: Crohn's disease; faecal calprotectin; faecal lactoferrin; faecal test; inflammatory bowel disease; ulcerative colitis