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Dr Naismith and colleagues determined the degree of this intrapersonal variability in the context of quiescent Crohn's disease. A single-centre prospective study was undertaken in 143 Crohn's disease patients in clinical remission. The research team analyzed 3 fecal calprotectin levels from stool samples on consecutive days. Consistency of fecal calprotectin levels was determined by measuring the intraclass correlation (ICC). The reliability of detecting a ‘case’ of active inflammation as defined for specific concentrations of fecal calprotectin was measured by the kappa statistic.  | | The kappa statistic for the reliability of detecting a case as defined by an FC level of 50 μg/g was 0.65 | | Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics |
The research team obtained 98 complete sets of results. The ICC was 0.8, which represents low variability across samples. The doctors reported the kappa statistic for the reliability of detecting a case as defined by an FC level of 50 μg/g was substantial at 0.65. Dr Naismith's team concluded, "Day to day variability of fecal calprotectin is low in our cohort of quiescent Crohn's disease patients and the reliability of defining a ‘case’ is moderately good." "These data provide reassurance to clinicians using a single calprotectin sample to inform therapeutic strategies in this cohort."
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