A rapid calprotectin test for the diagnosis of pleural effusion

In previous studies, measuring the levels of calprotectin in patients with pleural effusion (PE) was an exceptionally accurate way to predict malignancy. Here, we evaluated a rapid method for the measurement of calprotectin levels as a useful parameter in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) in order to minimise invasive diagnostic tests. Calprotectin levels were measured with Quantum Blue(®) sCAL (QB(®)sCAL) and compared with the gold standard reference ELISA method. Calprotectin levels in patients with benign pleural effusion (BPE) were significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than for MPE patients. We measured the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs) for a cut-off value of ≤ 14,150 ng/mL; the diagnostic accuracy was 64%. The odds ratio for PE calprotectin levels was 10.938 (95% CI [4.133 − 28.947]). The diagnostic performance of calprotectin concentration was better for predicting MPE compared to other individual parameters. Comparison of two assays showed a slope of 1.084, an intercept of 329.7, and a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.798. The Bland–Altman test showed a positive bias for the QB(®)sCAL method compared to ELISA fCAL(®). Clinical concordance between both these methods was 88.5% with a Cohen kappa index of 0.76 (95% CI [0.68 − 0.84]). We concluded that QB(®)sCAL is a fast, reliable, and non-invasive diagnostic tool for diagnosing MPE and represents an alternative to ELISA that could be implemented in medical emergencies.