STOOL TEST · SMART CARE POLYCLINIC, DEIRA
Calprotectin explained
A stool test that tells inflammation of the bowel apart from irritable bowel syndrome.
Order it on its own, or build your own blood test profile — 4 or more tests save up to 30–50%.
What the Calprotectin test measures
Calprotectin is released by white cells in an inflamed bowel and passes out in the stool. A normal result makes inflammatory bowel disease unlikely and supports irritable bowel syndrome, often sparing people a colonoscopy; a raised one means the bowel needs looking at.
What the result tells you
If it's raised
Points to inflammation of the bowel, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or an infection, and usually leads to a specialist referral.
If it's normal
With typical symptoms, it supports irritable bowel syndrome rather than an inflammatory disease.
Monitoring
In known inflammatory bowel disease it tracks whether a flare is settling.
How to prepare
- Fasting
- Not required
- Best time
- Collected at home, brought in the same day
- Avoid before
- Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen for 2 weeks, if possible
- Worth knowing
- Tell the doctor which medicines you take; some raise the result.
What can move the result
A result outside the usual range does not on its own mean something is wrong. These are the everyday explanations a doctor considers first.
Packages that include it
Frequently asked questions
Calprotectin is released by white cells in an inflamed bowel and passes out in the stool. A normal result makes inflammatory bowel disease unlikely and supports irritable bowel syndrome, often sparing people a colonoscopy; a raised one means the bowel needs looking at. If it's raised: Points to inflammation of the bowel, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or an infection, and usually leads to a specialist referral.
Fasting: Not required. Best time: Collected at home, brought in the same day. Avoid beforehand: Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen for 2 weeks, if possible. Tell the doctor which medicines you take; some raise the result.
Commonly: anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs); recent gut infection; age, as levels are higher in young children. A single result is not a diagnosis. Values are read against the laboratory's own reference range and alongside your history, your symptoms and the rest of the panel — which is why every package includes a doctor to go through them with you.
At Smart Care Polyclinic, 29 Doha Centre, Al Maktoum Rd, Deira, Dubai. It is included in the Gut Health Plus, the Gut Health + 360°, or it can be ordered on its own. Walk in during opening hours or call +971 (0)4 379 3562.
Sources
Written from current guidance and reviewed 18 October 2026.
- Faecal calprotectin diagnostic testsNICE
- CalprotectinTesting.com, Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine