ASSESSMENT OF FAECAL CALPROTECTIN LEVEL IN PAEDIATRIC AND GERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

2 Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

3 Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

Cryptosporidium parasite is one of the major causes of diarrhoea. Several parasites and host factors,
including the Cryptosporidium genotype and the host immune status and age can influence the disease
severity. In the present work the faecal calprotectin (FCAL) level was assessed in Cryptosporidium
infected patients, as a marker of intestinal inflammation in the paediatric and geriatric age groups, with
correlation to Cryptosporidium genotype. Our results revealed that the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis
in the geriatric patients was significantly higher than in the pediatric group. Genotyping revealed Cryptosporidium
hominis as the frequently circulating species. Significantly high FCAL levels weredetected
in Cryptosporidium positive patients denoting the ongoing inflammatory process in cryptosporidiosis.
Additionally, FCAL levels were significantly greater in Cryptosporidium hominis compared to
Cryptosporidium parvum infection, while unaffected by age group. Further studies are needed to investigate
the impact of cryptosporidiosis in the elderly patients and to evaluate FCAL as a predictive
marker of the disease outcome.

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