The packaging for the BÜHLMANN fCAL® turbo calibrator and control kits is changing from the current opaque white bottles to transparent vials with colour coded droppers and caps, as shown below: The new format will enable: The user to see what volume is left in the vial, making handing easier Colour coding makes it easier…
In the Autumn of 2023, technical specialists from BÜHLMANN visited Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital (GOSH) to collaboratively establish a protocol for integrating the new BÜHLMANN sCAL turbo into their Ortho Vitros analyser. This move aimed to facilitate the transition of the immunology team from the conventional ELISA method to the advanced PETIA assay for…
In 2014, the CALEX Cap transformed faecal calprotectin extraction workflows in laboratories. Now, with CALEX faecal calprotectin collection kits, patients can prepare and return their own samples, eliminating the need for traditional stool samples. The lab receives a ready-to-use CALEX, streamlining the testing process. This revolutionary shift maximises laboratory resources, reshaping calprotectin testing workflows significantly.…
Following on from the success of the fCAL® turbo and the fPELA® assays, BÜHLMANN has now launched the sCAL® turbo for serum calprotectin, that operates on the same principles as its predecessors. The BÜHLMANN sCAL® turbo runs on the mainstream clinical chemistry analysers and the time to first result is 10 minutes, with further results…
BÜHLMANN has been the market leading provider of faecal calprotectin assays in the UK for over 10 years, holding a significant portion of the market share, as recorded on the National External Quality Assurance Scheme (NEQAS). The BÜHLMANN results are split across the two main laboratory assays: fCAL ELISA and fCAL turbo assays. There is…
This article from the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust discusses the recent implementation of the BÜHLMANN IBDoc® Calprotectin Home Test within their Trust. You can also read about this implementation in our latest issue of Perspective. We talked to some of the key team members about their focus on introducing new technologies to…
In this pilot study, a relation between GI symptoms, intestinal inflammation (determined by FC) and faecal SARS-CoV-2-RNA in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 who did not require intensive care measures was explored. Click here to visit the BMJ website to find out more about the study and its results.
Faecal calprotectin (FC) is now part of the new official European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) and the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) guidelines.
The New Faecal Calprotectin Care Pathway, developed by Dr James Turvill, Consultant Gastroenterologist at York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and implemented by the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN, supports the implementation of NICE guidance DG11, for the detection of inflammation in the bowel (i.e. IBS vs IBD). The innovative and sensitive pathway based will help…
A report from BIVDA and Innovate UK has identified that wider use of some IVD tests could save money and improve patient care. As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS is this one way to strengthen its future? Calprotectin is one of the tests identified in the report. It is already utilised in the NHS,…
On 4th December 2017 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued a Medtech Innovation Briefing [MIB132]: ‘Point-of-care and home faecal calprotectin tests for monitoring treatment response in inflammatory bowel disease’. This describes the innovative aspect that test results can be acted on more quickly than waiting for standard laboratory tests and could help reduce colonoscopies and clinical appointments. Costs may…
The RCGP, in partnership with Crohn’s and Colitis UK, has launched an IBD toolkit for GPs and healthcare professionals. Clinical Champion for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Dr Kevin Barrett, developed the toolkit with the patient representative Rachel Fowler and the project’s steering group. He comments “Inflammatory Bowel Disease affects at least 1 in 250 of the…
BÜHLMANN application specialist Christina Gabris has recently visited the UK to validate some new instrument protocols for the fCAL turbo assay. Christina spent time in hospitals around Newcastle to optimise CE marked protocols for the Beckman AU5800 and AU680. The range of instruments with CE marked protocols for fCAL turbo has now been expanded to 28 including: Roche: cobas c501 & c502, cobas c701…
Labs are receiving increasing faecal calprotectin tests requests since NICE published Diagnostic Guideline 11: ‘Faecal calprotectin diagnostic tests for inflammatory diseases of the bowel’. This recommends faecal calprotectin as a first-line test for patients presenting with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms indicative of IBS or IBD. Pam Bowe, team manager in the Department of Biochemistry at the Cumberland Infirmary, describes the evolution of her laboratory procedures to cope…
Read about the work at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, where Louise Asser and her colleagues have been using small bowel capsule endoscopy, to review patients with an increased calprotectin but normal colonoscopy, to investigate them for small bowel pathology and re-evaluate presumed false positive calprotectin results.
Poo Collection Made Easy Collecting poo even gets into the daily news! A recent article in the Daily Mail addressed the tricky subject of how many patients find collecting faecal samples difficult and distasteful. Dr Cliodna McNulty, Head of the Primary Care Unit at Public Health England, explained why it’s so important.
Most things in this day and age are getting smaller: crisps, chocolate, computers and now endoscopes. Whilst the traditional endoscope is still used in most clinical investigations, a new kid on the block is now emerging. With a completely different, convenient and minimally invasive approach PillCam® could also provide more information than traditional endoscopy.
Tuesday 19 May is World IBD Day. 300,000 people in the UK and millions more worldwide are living with Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other types of IBD. Crohn’s and Colitis UK is asking people to wear purple (the international colour for IBD) on World IBD Day to help boost awareness about Crohn’s Disease and…
In a word – yes!
Is this clinically significant? in another word, no!
Most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) cause gastric damage in short-term volunteer studies, ranging from erythema to ulcers. Recent estimates suggest that gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding attributable to nonselective NSAID accounts for nearly 34% of all GI bleeding cases (mostly upper GI bleeding) in the US and may have resulted in over 32,000 hospitalisations per year during the last decade.
The recent Calprotectin Regional User Group meetings, organised by Alpha Laboratories, generated lively and informative discussions between new, experienced and some potential calprotectin assay users. Over 40 participants attended across the three meetings held in London, Birmingham and Manchester, travelling from as far afield as Truro and Glasgow. The majority of attendees had already set…
Faecal calprotectin testing hit the news headlines late last year following publication of the NICE diagnostic guidelines: ‘Faecal calprotectin diagnostic tests for inflammatory diseases of the bowel’ (DG11). Measurement of faecal calprotectin is considered to provide a reliable indicator of gastrointestinal (GI) tract inflammation and numerous studies show that, while faecal calprotectin concentrations are significantly…
In October 2013 NICE produced guidance (DG11) recommending the use of faecal calprotectin testing to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome. You can read more about the NICE guidelines here. The Health Technologies Adoption Programme (HTAP) are now…
The second Alpha Laboratories seminar on Diagnostics for Digestive Health was held on the 17th October at the Academy of Medical Sciences in London. The day brought together gastroenterologists, consultant biochemists and biomedical scientists to hear presentations from leaders in this field.
New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was released on the 2nd October regarding the use of Faecal Calprotectin as a diagnostics test for inflammatory diseases of the bowel. It advises doctors to use simple stool tests as an option to distinguish between potentially serious inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and…
We are now taking bookings for this year’s Diagnostics for Digestive Health Seminar. The event takes place on 17 October 2013 at the Academy of Medical Sciences, Portland Place, London. The draft agenda is below, and the event is worth 7 IBMS CPD points and 6 RcPath CPD points.
Two new reports out this month detail new guidelines for the diagnosis and management of IBS and IBD in Primary Care. Traditionally, making a diagnosis of IBS or IBD has been difficult and frustrating both for patients and clinicians due to the similarities in clinical symptoms. Correct diagnosis is important however as management and treatment…
Those laboratories initially using a lower throughput system for calprotectin measurement,such as the BÜHLMANN Quantum Blue kit, may find they need to transfer to a more cost and time-effective automated, higher-throughput system. When deciding which higher-throughput assay to use, it is important to consider:
Traditionally, the treatment aim in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has been clinical remission evaluated by clinical indices, especially among patients with symptoms of predominantly inflammatory origin1. However, the correlation between such indices and the degree of inflammation has been questioned and Saverymuttu et al2 showed low correlation between the Crohn Disease Activity Index…