Laboratory assessment of disease activity in childhood Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum orosomucoid were measured in children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in various states of disease activity. Results were matched with a clinical assessment to determine the correlation between laboratory test values and disease activity. Regression analysis showed that serum orosomucoid reflected disease activity better than ESR in both diseases. Orosomucoid but not ESR discriminated between disease in remission and mild disease in ulcerative colitis. No test invariably predicted presence or absence of active disease. Orosomucoid and ESR were complementary, but CRP was of no additional value. The usefulness of orosomucoid and ESR as objective measures of inflammatory activity was not masked by corticosteroid medication.