B cell-activating factor (BAFF) in children with inflammatory bowel disease

Background Assessing the inflammation is important in the follow-up of paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aim to evaluate the value of B cell-activating factor (BAFF) in paediatric IBD as a potential biomarker for follow-up. Method We determined BAFF in serum and faeces and faecal calprotectin (CP) in 32 IBD children—16 Crohn’s disease (CD) and 16 ulcerative colitis (UC). Twenty-six healthy children and 10 children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were included as controls. Results No differences were found in serum BAFF between IBD, IBS, and healthy group: 1037.35, 990.9 and 979.8 pg/ml, respectively, all p > 0.05, but faecal BAFF was higher in the IBD group: 15.1, 8.5 and 8.2 pg/ml, respectively, p 250 μg/g subgroup. Cut-off values of BAFF were calculated. Conclusion Faecal BAFF is a promising marker for monitoring the children with IBD, higher levels of BAFF being correlated with high CP. Impact Faecal BAFF is a promising marker in monitoring the children with IBD, higher levels of BAFF being correlated with high faecal calprotectin. To our knowledge, this is the first paediatric study concerning BAFF evaluation in IBD. Faecal BAFF levels could be considered a potential non-invasive marker in monitoring IBD activity in paediatric population with clinically mild or inactive disease.