['Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) has a high morbidity and mortality and often presents as a diagnostic challenge. Currently, there is no blood, urine, or radiologic tests that provide a definitive diagnosis of AMI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical accuracy of urine intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) to diagnosis AMI.', 'Twenty patients referred to the Acute Care Surgery service at University of Alberta Hospital with suspected AMI taken to the operating room for definitive diagnosis were recruited. Pathologic findings from surgical specimens confirmed a gold standard diagnosis for intestinal ischemia. The patients found to be nonischemic became the internal controls. Conventional clinical markers were examined in blood including white blood cell count, lactate, and creatinine. Blood was also examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for I-FABP and interleukin-6. Urine was examined preoperatively and 6 and 24\xa0h postoperatively for I-FABP.', 'Thirteen patients were pathologically diagnosed with AMI while five patients were nonischemic; two were excluded due to missing biologic specimens. There was no difference in age or gender between ischemic and nonischemic patients (56\xa0±\xa05 versus 66\xa0±\xa011\xa0years old, respectively; six females with ischemic and three females in the nonischemic group). There was no difference in serum lactate and creatinine between the two groups. Serum interleukin-6 levels in patients with AMI were significantly higher than nonischemic controls (0.4\xa0±\xa00.2\xa0ng/mL versus 0.2\xa0±\xa00.07\xa0ng/mL, respectively, P\xa0=\xa00.03). There was a nonstatistically significant increase in serum I-FABP in AMI patients compared to internal controls (9\xa0±\xa03\xa0ng/mL versus 2.4\xa0±\xa00.9\xa0ng/mL, respectively, P\xa0=\xa00.2). Urine I-FABP was significantly higher in patients diagnosed with AMI than in controls (7\xa0±\xa01\xa0ng/mL versus 2\xa0±\xa01\xa0ng/mL, respectively, P\xa0=\xa00.007). The receiver operating characteristic curve illustrated that urine I-FABP discriminates significantly between patients with AMI and controls (area under receiver operating characteristic\xa0=\xa00.88, P\xa0=\xa00.03).'] Does urine intestinal fatty acid-binding protein predict acute mesenteric ischemia in patients?