Evaluación del valor diagnóstico de la calprotectina fecal en pacientes con dispepsia

The diagnosis of patients with dyspepsia represents a challenge since in most cases complex and costly endoscopic observations are required. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic role of fecal calprotectin in patients with dyspepsia. To this end, an observational study was performed in 2019 on 149 patients with dyspepsia registered in the private Gastroenterology Specialists Center in Cuenca, Ecuador. The available data encompassed age, sex, alarm signs, fecal calprotectin (FC) values, and endoscopic findings. Patients in the age group >65 years were most represented, 56.4% of the population were female, 48.57% were FC positive of whom 86.8% possessed significant values of FC. FC+ was significantly associated with findings by EDA/colonoscopy (p<0.001). The most diagnostic pathologies in patients with FC+ were congestive gastropathy, intestinal metaplasia, giardiasis, and polyposis. FC correlated positively with the presence of pathological findings in the invasive diagnostic tests (r=0.298) and is a useful, noninvasive biomarker correlating positively with endoscopic findings in the gastrointestinal tract of dyspepsia patients.