ABSTRACTBackground Calprotectin is a protein found in the cytoplasm of neutrophile granulocytes. In the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Calprotectin is released during chronic inflammation in the gut. Activation of neutrophils during the inflammation is followed by activation and secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules such as Calprotectin. Calprotectin is stable in stool up to 7 days and can therefore be used as a non-invasive marker for diagnosis, treatment and measurement of the disease activity in patients with IBD. The most common method for analysis of Calprotectin concentration is ELISA.

Background Calprotectin is a protein expressed in the cytoplasm inside the neutrophile granulocytes. During inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the neutrophile granulocytes are involved in a complex interaction at the inflammatory area where they die and release their content into the intestinal lumen. Therefore, Calprotectin in stool is a suitable marker for diagnosis and measurement of the disease-activity in patients with IBD. The most commonly used method to detect Calprotectin in stool is ELISA, but the process of manual preparation of stool samples is time-consuming.Aim The objective of the study was to evaluate an extraction method that could replace manual preparation of fecal samples and to compare different methods for measuring Calprotectin in stool using two ELISA-methods from two manufacturers and one rapidtest.Methods For extraction of Calprotectin from stool samples we used sample collector tubes from Epitope Diagnostics and fecal preparation kits from Roche. Two different ELISA-kits for measuring Calprotectin concentration in stool were compared.