Real-life utility and diagnostic accuracy of a home-performed fecal calprotectin test to predict endoscopic activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease under maintenance treatment with adalimumab

Aims The home-performed fecal calprotectin (FC) test has been proposed for the remote management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. We present our real-world experience on the use of FC home testing in IBD patients under maintenance treatment with adalimumab. Methods Consecutive IBD patients on maintenance treatment with adalimumab were studied retrospectively on the basis of prospectively recorded data. FC calprotectin home test (IBDoc, Βuhlmann Laboratories AG, Schonenbuch, Switzerland) was analyzed alongside sufficient information on baseline characteristics, follow-up data and treatment modifications, as well as serum biomarkers and endoscopic assessment data on the basis of validated endoscopic scores. Results From a total of 72 IBD patients under maintenance treatment with adalimumab, 65 (90%) showed compliance with performing the home FC test. FC values were significantly higher in patients who finally needed treatment modification (37%) compared with those who were maintained on stable treatment (63%) (761 μg/g [537-1000] vs. 108 [41-335], P 413 μg/g had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 76% in predicting active disease in endoscopy. Conclusions These first real-life results indicate that in IBD patients under maintenance treatment with adalimumab FC home test is a valuable tool with high compliance rates that performs better than the other biomarkers in predicting disease endoscopic activity.