Calprotectin is a protein released by white blood cells (mainly neutrophils) that has antimicrobial properties. Calprotectin therefore serves as a marker for white blood cell activity or inflammation. Measuring calprotectin levels in faeces has been shown to be a sensitive marker of gut inflammation.

Calprotectin is a biomarker of neutrophil activity in the gut and raised calprotectin levels can be caused by:

• inflammatory bowel disease - ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease
• bowel infection
• microscopic colitis
• diverticulitis
• H. pylori gastritis
• drugs - proton pump inhibitors and non-steroidal inflammatory drugs
• bowel cancer
• age - average calprotectin levels increase with age and some older individuals can have a raised faecal calprotectin level without a clear cause

Our diagnostic testing is carried out by The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), one of the largest laboratories in the UK. TDL test for both the NHS (e.g. University College Hospital London) and private providers such as ourselves and use the exact same testing platforms and procedures in either case.

But no test is perfect - there can always be "false positive" and "false negative" results. The calprotectin test is "quantitative" meaning that the result is a number. The number itself is accurate but a high calprotectin doesn't always mean there will be inflammation in the bowel. The value needs to be considered alongside other factors such as your medical history and any symptoms. Using a calprotectin cut-off value of 50µg/g, can exclude significant bowel inflammation with 99% certainty^ref.

The symptoms of gut inflammation can include:

• diarrhoea
• blood in the stool
• stomach pain
• weight loss

Only a very small amount of stool is needed for an accurate calprotectin result. We use an ultra-modern calprotectin assay which can accurately quantify calprotectin from a small amount of stool scraped onto collection stick. This is the same collection device as used for qFIT tests for blood in the stool and means easy collection with minimal fuss.

Children under 18 years can use the test but will require supervision of an adult. If you have acute diarrhoea - e.g. gastroenteritis - a calprotectin test probably wont be very helpful.

If you're unsure if you should use this test panel, please contact us for advice.