C-reactive protein: a critical review.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Biochemistry
• Diagnostic Medicine
• Inflammation Biomarkers

Background:

• C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein produced by the liver.
• CRP levels rise in response to inflammation and infection.
• Its diagnostic and prognostic utility requires clear definition across various clinical scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature and determine the clinical value of C-reactive protein (CRP) measurements.
• To identify specific conditions where CRP is a useful diagnostic or management tool.
• To assess the role of CRP in differentiating infection types.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review.
• Analysis of studies evaluating C-reactive protein (CRP) in diverse clinical settings.
• Evaluation of CRP's efficacy in diagnosis, monitoring treatment response, and disease activity assessment.

Main Results:

• CRP is valuable for monitoring antibiotic treatment response in bacterial infections.
• A rise in CRP can signal intrauterine infections in obstetric patients with premature rupture of membranes.
• CRP aids in differentiating active disease from infection in systemic lupus and ulcerative colitis, assessing rheumatoid arthritis activity, detecting postoperative complications, and distinguishing infection from graft-versus-host disease in bone marrow transplant patients.
• The literature does not support using CRP to differentiate between bacterial and viral infections.

Conclusions:

• C-reactive protein (CRP) has established value in specific clinical applications for monitoring and diagnosis.
• CRP is a useful biomarker for tracking inflammation and treatment efficacy in several conditions.
• CRP is not a reliable marker for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections.