Fecal Calprotectin Level Reflects the Severity of Clostridium difficile Infection.
Clostridium difficile is a significant nosocomial and community-acquired pathogen, and is the leading cause of antibiotic-induced diarrhea associated with high morbidity and mortality. Given that the treatment outcome depends on the severity of C. difficile infection (CDI), we aimed to establish an efficient method of assessing severity, and focused on the stool biomarker fecal calprotectin (FC). FC directly reflects the intestinal inflammation status of a patient, and can aid in interpreting the current guidelines, which requires the integration of indirect laboratory parameters. The distinction of 80 patients with CDI versus 71 healthy controls and 30 severe infection cases versus 50 mild cases was possible using FC as a marker. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.821 and 0.746 with a sensitivity of 75% and 70% and specificity of 79% and 80%, for severe versus mild cases, respectively. We suggest FC as a predictive marker for assessing CDI severity, which is expected to improve the clinical management of CDI.
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jieun
J
Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Heejung
H
Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hyun Ju
HJ
Oh
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hyung Sun
HS
Kim
Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Youn Jee
YJ
Hwang
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. deyong@yuhs.ac.
Dongeun
D
Yong
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Seok Hoon
SH
Jeong
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kyungwon
K
Lee
D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex
Clostridium difficile infection; Fecal calprotectin; Severity assessment