Background: Emerging research suggests a link between inflammation and the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Soluble CD93 (sCD93), known to be released from the surface of inflammatory cells, has recently been identified as a potential biomarker for inflammatory diseases. However, its specific role in gastrointestinal disorders, particularly IBS, remains unclear.

Method: This study involved measuring sCD93 levels in the serum of 65 IBS patients and 65 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals, utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Subsequently, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of sCD93 for IBS.

Results: The findings revealed a significant elevation of sCD93 levels in IBS patients compared to control subjects. Interestingly, in the control group, sCD93 levels were notably higher in males than females, a trend not observed in the IBS group. No correlation was found between sCD93 levels and clinical symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, etc. The ROC curve analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.702–0.895), with sCD93 demonstrating 70.7% sensitivity and 85.4% specificity for IBS diagnosis at a threshold of 261 ng/mL.

Conclusions: This study indicates a significant increase in sCD93 levels in IBS patients, suggesting that sCD93 could serve as a reliable biomarker for IBS diagnosis. However, further research with a larger patient cohort is essential to validate these findings.