Certain health conditions will require a Calprotectin stool test for diagnosis. This might be your first-time hearing about it, and you probably have no idea what it is and for what purpose.
A calprotectin stool test requires you to give a sample of your fecal matter. Fecal matter referred to as stool or poop is examined to make a diagnosis on what condition might be affecting your gastrointestinal tract. Examples of such possible Conditions include:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) [1]
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [2]
- Bacterial and viral infections
Continue reading to learn more about the calprotectin stool test, including what it entails, how it is done, and the information it can give you about your intestinal tract.
What exactly is calprotectin?
Calprotectin is a protein that is found in the body. It is usually manufactured by white blood cells (WBC) [3] as a reaction to inflammation in the intestines. A type of white blood cell called neutrophils immediately travels to the area of the body where there’s an inflammation and releases the protein (calprotectin) to fight off the cause of the inflammation, whether it is a disease or infection.
Swelling in the intestinal tract is a possible symptom of IBD. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the general term used to describe a condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Some chronic IBD conditions include:
- Crohn’s disease [4]
- Ulcerative disease