Calprotectin is a protein that naturally occurs in the human body. Its production increases especially during inflammatory reactions in the intestine.
Calprotectin mainly originates from neutrophil white blood cells, and its concentration in stool increases as a result of intestinal inflammation. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include, for example, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Calprotectin measurement is used to diagnose inflammatory bowel diseases. It can also be used to monitor the activity of these diseases and the effectiveness of treatment.
Inflammatory bowel diseases are long-term, and their causes are often unclear. The most common symptoms of these diseases are diarrhea and abdominal pain. The diseases may also be associated with, among other things, weakened general health, fever, and weight loss. Symptoms can be continuous or recur periodically. The severity of symptoms can vary greatly between individuals.
If you feel sick or have symptoms, you should go directly to a doctor. The doctor will assess the situation and choose the necessary examinations and treatment. Symptoms may also be related to another condition or disease.
Calprotectin can be measured in stool. Calprotectin is evenly distributed in the stool and is relatively well preserved there, making the measurement reliable. Additionally, its reliability does not require multiple samples from different days, as a single sample is sufficient.
You can seek examination through Puhti without a doctor’s referral.
Contact a doctor after the examination if you suspect a disease or have symptoms. You can order a remote consultation with a Mehiläinen doctor as a separate service from Puhti’s result report.
If the concentration of calprotectin in stool is normal, i.e., below 100 micrograms/gram, an active bowel disease can be relatively reliably ruled out.
However, in proctitis, the calprotectin value may be normal. Proctitis is an ulcerative colitis in the rectal area where the rectum empties frequently.
Anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided for a couple of weeks before testing, as they can distort calprotectin results by giving a false positive result. Anti-inflammatory drugs can cause damage to the intestinal mucosa, which this false positive result is based on.
The test is used for diagnosing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It is also useful for monitoring disease activity and treatment effectiveness. This is a stool test.
Note! The use of anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided a couple of weeks before the test, as they can distort calprotectin results by giving a false positive result.
Neutrophils are the most important and common type of white blood cells.
The difference between the complete blood count and the basic blood count is that the CBC also includes the total number of platelets and the differential white blood cell count.
CRP or a high-sensitivity CRP test is usually carried out if an inflammatory disease is suspected.
Article updated:
25 April 2025