ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Gastroenterology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1605142
Zonulin family peptide is not a predictive marker for development of postoperative minor complications: an observational study in patients after colorectal surgery
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Freiburg Medical Center, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 2Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantsurgery, University Medical Center Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Background:Postoperative complications after colorectal surgery are still challenging. Zonulin family peptide (ZFP) has been discussed as a potential marker of intestinal permeability and postoperative complications. The aim of this trial was to investigate whether ZFP allows early diagnosis of postoperative complications after colorectal surgery. Method:We performed a monocentric, observational study among patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery between April 2018 and April 2019. Patients of all ages regardless of sex undergoing colorectal surgery without creation of ostomy were eligible for inclusion. Emergency surgery were not considered. Blood samples were taken preoperatively as well as on the 3rd, 6th and 9th postoperative day. All postoperative complications were classified according to Clavien-Dindo. Results:Overall, 67 patients participated in the trial, 51% were male, average age was 58 years. Thirty-seven patients (55%) developed postoperative complications, mostly mild or moderate (Clavien-Dindo I and II). Almost all patients had a ZFP concentration in serum above the normal reference range preoperatively. Postoperatively, there was a significant decrease of ZFP on the 3rd postoperative day compared to the preoperative concentration of ZFP, but there was no association between ZFP levels and development of postoperative complications. Conclusion:The results suggest that ZFP is not able to predict postoperative minor complications after colorectal surgery.
Keywords: visceral surgery, Anastomotic leakage, Wound Infection, Outcome, biomarkers, prevention and control, perioperative medicine Clinical trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00014059)
Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Knott, Müller, Paul, Kousoulas, Huber and Lederer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ann-Kathrin Lederer, Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantsurgery, University Medical Center Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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