Correlation between Colonoscopy and Fecal Calprotectin Levels

Fecal calprotectin is a protein produced by colonic neutrophils in response to digestive inflammation. A fecal calprotectin level of 50µg/g has been retained in various studies as a negative predictive value for colonic damage. We carried out a retrospective descriptive study in the Department of Gastroenterology, CHU Tangiers, Morocco, on patients presenting with a fecal calprotectin level greater than 50 µg/g. The results of our study show a predominance of females with an average age of 40 years, colonoscopies performed were free of macroscopic abnormalities in 55.5% of cases, colonic diseases identified were mostly in favor of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in 33% and colonic polyps were found last. This result is in line with the Egyptian study, and in contrast with the majority of studies carried out in Europe, where colonic polyps and diverticula were the most common findings. These results could be explained by the young age of our patients, which coincides with the age of discovery of chronic inflammatory diseases, or by their diet, since a Mediterranean diet gives a lower risk of developing polyps and colonic diverticula than a meat-rich diet in the European population, which explains the higher percentage of polyps and colonic diverticula in the European population.