Fecal Calprotectin in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Disorders
September 2, 2026 updated by: Manar Helmy Mohamed, Assiut University
Diagnostic Value of Fecal Calprotectin in Gastrointestinal Disorders Versus Its Correlation With Endoscopic and Histopathological Findings
This prospective cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of fecal calprotectin as a non-invasive biomarker in children with gastrointestinal disorders and to assess its correlation with endoscopic and histopathological findings at Assiut University Children Hospital.
Study Overview
Status
Not yet recruiting
Detailed Description
Gastrointestinal symptoms such as chronic abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, and rectal bleeding are common reasons for referral to pediatric gastroenterology clinics. Distinguishing organic inflammatory disease from functional disorders remains a diagnostic challenge.
Fecal calprotectin is a non-invasive marker of intestinal inflammation. This study will include children aged 2 to 18 years with chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms who are scheduled for endoscopic evaluation. Fecal calprotectin levels will be measured and compared with endoscopic and histopathological findings to determine diagnostic performance, including sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cutoff values.
Study Type
Observational
Enrollment (Estimated)
120
Contacts and Locations
This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.
Study Contact
- Name: Manar H Mohamed, Resident
- Phone Number: +20 12 23691268
- Email: Manar.18313532@med.aun.edu.eg
Participation Criteria
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Child
- Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No
Sampling Method
Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
Children aged 2 to 18 years presenting with chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms and scheduled for endoscopic evaluation at the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Units, Assiut University Children Hospital.
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- - Age 2 to 18 years
- Chronic gastrointestinal symptoms of more than 4 weeks duration (chronic diarrhea, recurrent abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, or failure to thrive)
- Scheduled for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and/or ileocolonoscopy with mucosal biopsy
- Written informed consent from parents or legal guardians
Exclusion Criteria:
- Age below 2 years
- Use of NSAIDs, systemic corticosteroids, or antibiotics within 4 weeks before stool sampling
- Documented acute gastrointestinal infection, surgical gastrointestinal bleeding, or intestinal parasitic infestation
- Previous gastrointestinal surgery, known malignancy, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, or cystic fibrosis
- Refusal of parents or legal guardians to participate
- Failure to obtain an adequate stool sample
Study Plan
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
How is the study designed?
Design Details
Cohorts and Interventions
Group / Cohort |
|---|
|
Single group: Children with gastrointestinal symptoms undergoing endoscopy
Children aged 2-18 years with chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms who will undergo fecal calprotectin measurement and endoscopic evaluation with mucosal biopsy as part of routine diagnostic work-up.
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Diagnostic performance of fecal calprotectin
Time Frame: Baseline
|
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of fecal calprotectin for detecting mucosal inflammation, using endoscopic and histopathological findings as the reference standard.
|
Baseline
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Correlation with endoscopic findings
Time Frame: Baseline
|
Correlation between fecal calprotectin concentration (µg/g) and endoscopic severity scores (Mayo Endoscopic Subscore or SES-CD).
|
Baseline
|
|
Correlation with histopathological findings
Time Frame: Baseline
|
Correlation between fecal calprotectin concentration (µg/g) and histopathological grade of mucosal inflammation.
|
Baseline
|
|
Optimal cutoff value of fecal calprotectin
Time Frame: Baseline
|
Optimal cutoff value of fecal calprotectin for detecting mucosal inflammation derived from ROC curve analysis.
|
Baseline
|
Collaborators and Investigators
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
Sponsor
Investigators
- Study Chair: Zeinab m Mohieldeen, prof, Pediatric Department, Assiut University Hospitals
Publications and helpful links
The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.
General Publications
- Memish ZA, Zumla A, Madhi SA, Al Rabeeah AA. Novel funding pledges for advancing polio eradication efforts. Lancet. 2024 Jun 29;403(10446):2781-2782. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01026-2. No abstract available.
- Dalla Lana Semione G, Vonk V, Pandey AD, Granas E, Arndt B, Wenskat M, Hillert W, Noei H, Stierle A. Temperature-dependent near-surface interstitial segregation in niobium. J Phys Condens Matter. 2021 May 24;33(26). doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/abf9b7.
- Rohani P, Beheshti NR, Alimadadi H, Sohouli MH. Association of fecal calprotectin level with eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease in Iranian pediatrics. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2022 Sep 30;18(1):86. doi: 10.1186/s13223-022-00728-5.
- Moreira RT, Rodrigues LARL, Farias LM, Crisostomo JM, Lavor LCC, Rodrigues Filho OS, Frota KMG. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on depression treatment. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2021 Aug;67(8):1192-1197. doi: 10.1590/1806-9282.20210404. No abstract available.
Study record dates
These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Estimated)
September 2, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
September 2, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
August 1, 2028
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
September 2, 2026
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
September 2, 2026
First Posted (Actual)
September 8, 2026
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
September 8, 2026
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
September 2, 2026
Last Verified
September 1, 2026
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- FC-Pediatric-GI-Assiut-2026
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
No
This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.