Calprotectin Test Price in Pakistan: Rs 3,290 at Marham Lab

A calprotectin stool test measures a protein called calprotectin in a sample of your stool. MedlinePlus explains that it is normal to have a small amount, and that high levels are a sign your intestines are inflamed. When inflammation is present, your immune system sends white blood cells called neutrophils to the area, and those cells release calprotectin into the intestines where it mixes with stool. At Marham Lab the test costs Rs 3,290, reduced from Rs 4,700.

If you have had months of diarrhoea, cramping and belly pain and nobody has given you a straight answer, this is the test that narrows it down.

MedlinePlus states that in most cases providers use calprotectin stool testing to help tell the difference between inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Both are long lasting, both affect adults and children, and both cause diarrhoea, belly pain and cramps that come and go. Only one of them involves inflammation.

MedlinePlus is careful about what the test can and cannot do. It can find out whether your intestinal condition involves inflammation. It cannot diagnose the specific cause. What it does is tell your doctor which road to go down.

MedlinePlus sets out what the levels suggest.

Normal or low calprotectin usually means your intestines are not inflamed, which means you do not have IBD, and your symptoms are probably caused by a non inflammatory condition. Your provider may order other tests to find which one.

MedlinePlus adds one honest caveat. It is possible to have a normal result even when the intestines are inflamed, which is called a false negative, and it notes these mostly happen in children.

High calprotectin usually means the intestines are inflamed, and MedlinePlus states the higher the amount, the more inflammation you have. If levels are high, your provider may retest in a few weeks to see whether they change.

Several conditions raise calprotectin, so MedlinePlus notes you may need other tests to find the cause.

MedlinePlus notes that most watery diarrhoea settles on its own after a day or two and needs no testing. The test becomes useful when symptoms do not improve after a few days or keep coming back.

Alongside diarrhoea, belly pain and cramping, MedlinePlus lists these signs of intestinal inflammation.

• Blood, mucus or pus in your stool
• Always feeling like you need to open your bowels even when there is no stool, which may be painful and cause cramps
• Feeling an urgent need to open your bowels
• Weight loss when you are not trying to lose weight

MedlinePlus says to contact your provider straight away if you see blood or pus in your stool, or if your stool is black and tarry. That is a same day conversation with a doctor rather than a lab booking.

If you already have IBD, MedlinePlus notes calprotectin testing is used to find how severe the inflammation is, guide treatment choices, check whether the disease is getting better or worse, and predict the chance symptoms will return, including after surgery.

No fasting is needed.

Medicines are the thing to sort out first. MedlinePlus names two common over the counter groups that can affect results.

• NSAIDs, the painkillers, including aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. MedlinePlus separately lists taking NSAIDs as a cause of somewhat high calprotectin
• Proton pump inhibitors, the stomach acid medicines, including omeprazole, esomeprazole and lansoprazole

Both are sold without prescription in Pakistan and both are commonly taken by exactly the people who need this test. Ask the doctor who ordered it whether to pause them, and never stop a medicine without speaking to your provider first.