ABSTRACT
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome can have overlapping symptoms, yet a different management. Hence, a noninvasive biological marker is needed for the assessment of patients with lower bowel symptoms. This study aimed at evaluating the diagnostic value of faecal calprotectin as a potential marker in differentiating patients with inflammatory bowel disease from those with irritable bowel syndrome. Twenty patient with IBD and twenty patients with lBS were recruited from Am Shams hospital gastroenterology outpatient clinic in the period between January 2008 to November 2009, In addition, a control group of 10 healthy individuals was included. Faecal calprotectin level using an ELISA technique [Calprest [R] was measured in the stool of all groups. Also, atypical p-ANCA and ASCA were performed in the IBD group. At a cut off value of 8.1 mg/L, fecal calprotectin had a negative predictive value [NPV] of 100% to exclude lBS patients with a sensitivity of 100% and a positive predictive value [PPV] to confirm IBD of 95.24% with a specificity of 95%. The diagnostic accuracy of faecal caiprotectin in predicting IBD activity was 100% at a cut off value of 25.5 mg/L. Fecal calprotectin appears to be a clinically useful noninvasive marker in differentiating IBD from lBS