Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013:2013:124021.
doi: 10.1155/2013/124021. Epub 2013 Oct 28.

Interpretation of C-reactive protein concentrations in critically ill patients

Christophe Lelubre  1 , Sophie Anselin, Karim Zouaoui Boudjeltia, Patrick Biston, Michaël Piagnerelli
Affiliations
Review

Interpretation of C-reactive protein concentrations in critically ill patients

Christophe Lelubre et al. Biomed Res Int. 2013.

Abstract

Infection is often difficult to recognize in critically ill patients because of the marked coexisting inflammatory process. Lack of early recognition prevents timely resuscitation and effective antimicrobial therapy, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Measurement of a biomarker, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, in addition to history and physical signs, could facilitate diagnosis. Although frequently measured in clinical practice, few studies have reported on the pathophysiological role of this biomarker and its predictive value in critically ill patients. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiological role of CRP and its potential interpretation in the inflammatory processes observed in critically ill patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the principal physiological roles of C-reactive protein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Angus DC, Linde-Zwirble WT, Lidicker J, Clermont G, Carcillo J, Pinsky MR. Epidemiology of severe sepsis in the United States: analysis of incidence, outcome, and associated costs of care. Critical Care Medicine. 2001;29(7):1303–1310. - PubMed
    1. Kumar G, Kumar N, Taneja A, et al. Nationwide trends of severe sepsis in the 21st century (2000–2007) Chest. 2011;140(5):1223–1231. - PubMed
    1. Vincent JL, Sakr Y, Sprung CL, et al. Sepsis in European intensive care units: results of the SOAP study. Critical Care Medicine. 2006;34(2):344–353. - PubMed
    1. Vincent JL, Rello J, Marshall J, et al. International study of the prevalence and outcomes of infection in intensive care units. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2009;302(21):2323–2329. - PubMed
    1. Vincent JL, Abraham E, Annane D, Bernard G, Rivers E, Van den Berghe G. Reducing mortality in sepsis: new directions. Critical Care. 2002;6(supplement 3):S1–S18. - PMC - PubMed