Serum Procalcitonin Values Relate to Disease Activity in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Objective: In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, the correlation between disease activity and serum procalcitonin (SPCT) values remains elusive. By using a number of clinical and laboratory phenotypes of disease activity in conjunction with the degree of mucosal inflammation in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), we sought to determine whether the blood SPCT levels of IBD patients could be useful as a biomarker. Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted with 132 UC patients, 83 Crohn’s disease (CD) patients, and 72 healthy controls (HCs). In UC, endoscopic and clinical activity were identified using the Mayo Clinical Scoring System (MCS), and the histological activity index (HAI) was calculated using the Truelove and Richards technique. The Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) of CD patients was calculated. The Montreal classification was preferred for determining disease localization in IBD patients. Results: The median SPCT levels were higher in the UC and CD patients compared to the HC (0.07 vs 0.26 vs 0.03 ng/ml, respectively, p