Diagnostics
Calprotectin home testing: what do patients think?
Basildon Hospital is using calprotectin home testing to support IBD patients. Kezia Allen, Associate Practitioner, Clinical Trials, Basildon Hospital, reveals the feedback from patients who are using calprotectin tests, as well as some key considerations for the Trust.
The demands on healthcare resources continue to escalate, with the COVID pandemic having exacerbated the existing pressures from an ageing population living longer and with more complex health conditions. Changes to traditional practices are essential if healthcare services are to keep pace with the increased demands. Developments in digital App technology
have the ability to not only improve the health of patients, but also to save money, through rapid optimisation of treatment. They enable early interventions through monitoring, before conditions get too serious and reduce the need for routine check-up appointments and procedures. This frees up limited resources in both pathology and the clinic. The Bühlmann IBDoc was one of the first
calprotectin home tests to be introduced to the market back in 2015. Since then, there have been numerous publications demonstrating the correlation of the IBDoc result from the test performed by the patient in their own home, to the results of professional laboratory analyses. More importantly there is also evidence of the correlation to the IBDoc calprotectin results to the endoscopic and histologic findings of disease status. The test meets demand from a clinical perspective, therefore. Dr. Pushpakaran Munuswamy, Department Lead, Gastroenterology, Basildon University Hospital introduced the test to support IBD patients in the summer of 2020. Dr. Munuswamy
Time to perform the test
Recording & display of the results in the App Reading the test result with the App Getting the sample onto the test cassette Collecting the sample in the CALEX Installation of the App Instructions for use
78% 80% 82% 84% 86% 88% 90% Table 1. Percentage of patients mildly to strongly satisfied with the IBDoc. 40
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I March 2024 92% 94% 96%
commented that: “From my perspective, I am seeing a difference already, because we can escalate treatment within a day or two of requesting the calprotectin test. Previously there was a wait of around 4-6 weeks or even longer, depending on when the sample is taken and the capacity in the labs. Hopefully, in the future, we will see the benefits of this rapid response in terms of reduced hospitalisations and clinic visits because patients have had timely interventions. It will also reduce calls to the helpline because we know the results and
have been able to act quickly.” But how do the patients feel about the
changes that have been introduced? To obtain feedback, a survey was carried out, after the IBDoc had been in use for two years, with around 250 patients actively using the system in Basildon. Responses to the survey were received
from 22% of eligible patients with two thirds being female and a third being male. Roughly two thirds had Crohn’s disease and a third had ulcerative colitis. The mean age of the respondents was 43 years, ranging from 22 to 75 years. Anecdotally, it seems to be the older patients
that are more engaged with the home testing. These are the patients that have lived with the consequences of the disease for longer and are keen for things not to deteriorate.
Patients’ experience Overall satisfaction with the test was high (see Table 1). This high level of satisfaction was also reflected in the results and aftercare with the IBDoc (see Table 2). One patient commented:
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