Acquired copper deficiency following prolonged jejunostomy feeds.

A 19-year-old man who developed extensive oesophageal lye (Alkali) stricture and received long-term enteral nutrition (eight months) with a jejunostomy tube developed macrocytic anaemia (Hb: 41 g/L) with leucopenia (white blood cell [WBC]: 3.0 x 10(9)/L). The patient's serum vitamin B12, folate, iron and liver function tests were normal. Bone marrow examination revealed gross erythroid hyperplasia and cytoplasmic vacuolization of erythroid and myeloid elements. Further investigations revealed low serum copper (0.3 micromol/L) and ceruloplasmin concentrations (<30 mg/L) with marginally low normal serum concentration of red cell peroxidase (13 U/gHb), establishing the diagnosis of copper deficiency anaemia. The anaemia and leucopenia responded intermittently to intravenous copper therapy, but the serum copper concentration dropped when intravenous copper therapy was withdrawn. Enteral jejunostomy copper supplementation failed to maintain adequate serum copper concentrations. After stabilizing the general condition of the patient, a pharyngo-gastric anastamosis was performed and normal oral diet commenced, which restored normal serum copper concentration. This case report suggests that copper supplements in the form of copper sulphate are not adequately absorbed when administered through a jejunostomy tube.

Faecal calprotectin in the assessment of Crohn's disease activity.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and laboratory assessment of activity in Crohn's disease (CD) correlate poorly with endoscopic findings. Calprotectin is a calcium-binding protein abundant in neutrophil cytosol, and extremely stable in faeces. Faecal calprotectin (FC) is an excellent surrogate marker of neutrophil influx into the bowel lumen. AIM: To assess whether FC concentration from a spot stool sample reliably detects active inflammation in patients with CD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparative study. METHODS: Subjects had a previously confirmed diagnosis of CD and were suspected on clinical grounds to be in the midst of a relapse. Thirty-five entered the study; they underwent radiolabelled white cell scanning (WCS) and had a stool sample collected for calprotectin measurement on the same day. A Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) was also calculated for each. The WCS scans were scored at six standard sites to give a mean total, 'extent', 'severity' and 'combined extent and severity' scores. RESULTS: FC was significantly and positively correlated with mean total (r = 0.73, p < 0.001), 'extent' (r = 0.71, p < 0.001), 'severity' (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and combined 'extent and severity' WCS scores (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). A cut-off of faecal calprotectin > 100 microg/g gave a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 67%, positive predictive value of 87% and a negative predictive value of 64% in identifying those with and without any inflammation on WCS. There was, however, no significant correlation between CDAI and mean total WCS score (r = 0.21, p = 0.24), nor between CDAI and FC (r = 0.33, p = 0.06). DISCUSSION: While the CDAI does not accurately reflect inflammatory activity in CD, a one-off FC reliably detects the presence or absence of intestinal inflammation in adult patients with CD, compared to WCS.