Serial measurements of faecal calprotectin may discriminate intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn's disease in patients started on antitubercular therapy
Vishal Sharma 1, Suhang Verma 1, Praveen Kumar-M 2, Harshal S Mandavdhare 1, Harjeet Singh 3, Jimil Shah 1, Dimple Kalsi 1, Amitava Dutta 1, Shubhra Mishra 1, Kaushal K Prasad 1, Arun K Sharma 1, Usha Dutta
Published Mar, 2021 in the Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32796361/
Abstract
Background: Response to antitubercular therapy (ATT) is often used to differentiate intestinal tuberculosis (ITB) from Crohn's disease. Role of non-invasive biomarkers to predict mucosal response to ATT is unclear.
Materials and methods: A prospective study to compare faecal calprotectin and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at diagnosis, 2 and 6 months of ATT in patients with suspected ITB started on ATT was done. The patients were eventually divided into two groups: ITB or alternative diagnosis (OTH). Decline of calprotectin and CRP levels was used to compute area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) to predict mucosal healing at 2 months.
Results: Thirty-seven patients (mean age: 34.95 ± 16.35 years, 23 males) were included and 28 (75.67%) were diagnosed as ITB while nine (24.32%) had alternative diagnosis (OTH). The median faecal calprotectin values of ITB and OTH groups at baseline, 2 months and 6 months were 216 and 282 µg/g (P = 0.466), 43 and 216 µg/g (P = 0.003), and 26 and 213 µg/g (P < 0.001), respectively. The median CRP values at baseline, 2 months and 6 months were 18 and 30 mg/L (P = 0.767), 4.7 and 15 mg/L (P = 0.025), and 3 and 10.85 mg/L (P = 0.068), respectively. The AUROC of percent decline in faecal calprotectin and serum CRP at 2 months for mucosal healing were 0.8287 [95% confidence inteval (CI) 0.6472-1] and 0.6018 (95% CI 0.4079-0.7957), respectively.
Conclusion: Faecal calprotectin can help in assessing response to therapy in suspected ITB patients started on empirical ATT.