title: Severe disease in Cystic Fibrosis and fecal calprotectin levels.
abstract: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is used to asses the presence of intestinal inflammation also in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and recent studies showed a correlation between bowel and lung disease in these patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of FC in CF and correlate them with different phenotypes of disease. We enrolled a cohort of 54 CF patients and 50 healthy controls. In these patients, calprotectin has been assayed on a stools sample using an ELISA kit. In all patients we analyzed, FC levels were elevated above the cut-off value and significantly higher than in healthy controls. Among CF patients, FC was significantly higher in patients older than 18 years, with pancreatic insufficiency, underweight status, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa airways colonization, CF-related diabetes mellitus, reduced lung function, or high number of pulmonary exacerbations. These results suggest that in patients with CF, FC levels are not only influenced by the CF enteropathy but also by the severity of the genetic disease. Since we found higher FC levels in patients with a severe phenotype (P. Aeruginosa airways colonization, FEV1<50% of predicted, pancreatic insufficiency, underweight status,) we suggest that this marker could be useful to monitor longitudinally a clinical worsening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe Fabio
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papale
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Novella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rotolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aloisio
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tardino
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Benedetto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nenna
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Midulla
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Electronic address: leonardi@unict.it.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leonardi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011379:Prognosis; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex
keywords: Calprotectin; Cystic Fibrosis; Enteropathy; Lung disease; Marker