NarlaAACC19-FCAL.pdf

AACC 2019 -- Calprotectin is a calcium-heterodimer protein which is abundant in the cytoplasm of neutrophils. This is a biomarker with good sensitivity and specificity in case of inflammatory Bowel disease (IBD) which is a chronic inflammatory gut. In case of IBD, neutrophils from the inflammatory area release calprotectin, which leads to its increased levels in stool samples. Calprotectin is measured in extracted stools. There are several extraction devices that are commercially available as well a manual weigh-in method, "Gold Standard" method. The homogeneity of stool sample and the neutrophil levels in the sample affect the precision of the results from the same stool sample. Our study compares 2 commercial stool extraction devices with the manual weigh-in method as well as the variability within each extraction method.