Every year on May 19, World IBD Day brings attention to the reality of living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. More than ten million people worldwide manage these conditions every day, navigating flares, treatment decisions, and the uncertainty of a disease with no cure.

Awareness matters. But for clinicians treating IBD, awareness is not the challenge. The real challenge is how to continuously monitor a complex, fluctuating condition – without overwhelming already stretched healthcare systems.

Where today’s IBD care falls short

Most IBD care is still built around scheduled appointments and reactive responses. A patient deteriorates, symptoms worsen, and only then does the clinical picture become clear. By that point, a flare may already be underway.

At the same time, specialists often spend time reviewing all IBD patients, including those with low or stable calprotectin values. Without continuous monitoring, there is no way to know in advance who actually needs the appointment. The result can be growing waiting lists, with the risk that patients experiencing significant inflammation are seen too late.

This is not just a workflow issue. It is a structural limitation, and monitoring is where it can be solved.

Why calprotectin matters

Fecal calprotectin has become one of the most trusted biomarkers in IBD care. It correlates with intestinal inflammation, supports differentiation between inflammatory and functional conditions, and helps guide treatment decisions, without invasive procedures.

At Calpro AS, we have spent more than 25 years focused exclusively on this biomarker, contributing to the development of the first commercial calprotectin test and the clinical cut-offs still used today.

As testing moves beyond the laboratory, that foundation becomes even more important.

What changes when patients test at home

The biggest shift in IBD monitoring today is decentralization.

With CalproSmart Self-Test, patients measure calprotectin at home and share quantitative results directly with their clinical team in under 20 minutes – without requiring a clinic visit.

Clinical data shows strong performance, including 94% sensitivity and high agreement with lab-based ELISA. Just as importantly, 71% choose home testing over hospital sample drop-off when given the choice.

→ Earlier identification of flares → More effective triage → Fewer unnecessary appointments.

Care that works between appointments

Better monitoring reshapes more than workflows. It changes how patients experience their condition.

With access to real-time data, patients can detect changes earlier, engage with their care team sooner, and feel more in control of a disease that is otherwise invisible between visits.

That is what smarter IBD care looks like, not just on May 19, but every day.

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See how CalproSmart Self-Test can support your clinic’s monitoring workflow!