Abstract
At the Children's Center of the Mount Sinai Hospital quantitative measurements of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) are frequently made. We have performed more than 30,000 such tests since 1974. A serum CRP determination is made whenever a blood culture is obtained. This practice made it possible for us to assess the value of quantitative CRP measurement in the prediction of septicemia.
Over a three-year period, 127 positive blood cultures were identified. In 18 episodes of septicemia in 17 patients (ages 2 weeks to 17 years) the initial CRP was ≤ 1.5 mg/dl. In 14 of these 18 episodes, it was ≤ 1 mg/dl. Three children (4 episodes) were on chemotherapy for malignancy. Three children died the day of the determinations. The remaining children had serious infections with a variety of different agents, including H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, Ps. aerugenosa, group B streptococcus, salmonella species, K. pneumoniae, E. cloacae and candida species.
Our data illustrate that a normal initial CRP value is not inconsistent with septicemia. Physicians using CRP measurements for diagnostic purposes should be aware of this.
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Hyatt, A., Barzilai, A., Hodes, D. et al. SEPTICEMIA IN THE ABSENCE OF CRP ELEVATION. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 278 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01108
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01108
