Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2010; 16(27): 3406-3410
Published online Jul 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i27.3406
Can chronic gastritis cause an increase in fecal calprotectin concentrations?
Massimo Montalto, Antonella Gallo, Gianluca Ianiro, Luca Santoro, Ferruccio D’Onofrio, Riccardo Ricci, Giovanni Cammarota, Marcello Covino, Monica Vastola, Antonio Gasbarrini, Giovanni Gasbarrini
Massimo Montalto, Antonella Gallo, Gianluca Ianiro, Luca Santoro, Ferruccio D’Onofrio, Giovanni Cammarota, Marcello Covino, Monica Vastola, Antonio Gasbarrini, Giovanni Gasbarrini, Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, Italy
Riccardo Ricci, Institute of Pathology, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Montalto M designed the study, recruited the patients and wrote the manuscript with the help of Gallo A and Ianiro G; D’Onofrio F, Santoro L, Cammarota G, Vastola M, Gasbarrini A and Gasbarrini G participated in data management and editing of the paper; Ricci R performed histological evaluation; Covino M carried out statistical calculations; all authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version.
Correspondence to: Dr. Massimo Montalto, MD, PhD, Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University, Largo Gemelli 8, 00168 Roma, Italy. mmontalto@rm.unicatt.it
Telephone: +39-6-30154334 Fax: +39-6-35502775
Received: March 3, 2010
Revised: March 30, 2010
Accepted: April 6, 2010
Published online: July 21, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate fecal calprotectin concentrations (FCCs) in subjects with chronic gastritis and the correlation between FCCs and gastritis activity score.

METHODS: FCCs were measured in 61 patients with histological diagnosis of gastritis and in 74 healthy volunteers. Histological grading of gastritis was performed according to the updated Sydney gastritis classification. Patients were subdivided into 2 groups according to the presence/absence of an active gastritis. Patients with chronic active gastritis were divided into 3 subgroups on the basis of the activity score (mild, moderate, marked). FFCs in relation to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use were also evaluated.

RESULTS: FCCs in patients with chronic active gastritis were not significantly different to FCCs either in subjects with non active gastritis or in healthy controls. Among patients with chronic active gastritis (even marked), FCCs did not significantly differ according to activity score. No significant differences in FCCs were found when considering H. pylori, as well as when considering PPI chronic use.

CONCLUSION: FCCs were not significantly increased in subjects with chronic gastritis, even in those patients with a marked neutrophil infiltration.

Keywords: Chronic gastritis, Fecal calprotectin, Intestinal inflammation, Neutrophils