Calprotectin in serum

Serum, 1ml

Calprotectin is a protein of the innate immune system that is released directly at the site of inflammation and reflects inflammatory activity better than classic markers such as CRP. In rheumatology, determination in serum is particularly useful as it reflects disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) better than other markers, even under IL-6 inhibitor therapy. It is used both for the differential diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory diseases and shows early changes even with mild disease activity. While calprotectin in faeces is primarily used in gastroenterology for the diagnosis/monitoring of inflammatory bowel diseases, serum measurement opens up new possibilities in rheumatology, for example for differentiating between sJIA and other diseases. In contrast to CRP, calprotectin in serum remains meaningful under IL-6 inhibitor therapy and enables a more precise assessment of the success of the therapy and the inflammatory status.

Notes: Haemolysis leads to falsely high results, as does leaving whole blood standing for too long before centrifugation or shipping.
Lipaemia leads to falsely low values.