These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Value of serum C-reactive protein concentrations in febrile children without apparent focus.
    Author: Kohli V, Singhi S, Sharma P, Ganguly NK.
    Journal: Ann Trop Paediatr; 1993; 13(4):373-8. PubMed ID: 7506886.
    Abstract:
    We examined the value of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in febrile children without an apparent focus of infection, (i) as a tool to differentiate bacteraemia and bacterial infection from a non-bacterial illness (NBI), and (ii) as an indicator of recovery or complications. Included in the study were 100 children up to the age of 3 years with a temperature of > or = 38.5 degrees C, without an apparent focus. The serum CRP concentration was measured on days 1, 3 and 5 of evaluation and correlated with the final diagnosis and outcome. The serum CRP was 40 mg/l and above in 95% of patients (18/19) with bacteraemia and also in seven of the eight with purulent meningitis, while it was < 40 mg/l in 84% of patients (52/62) with NBI (mean (SD) 22 (28.6) mg/l). The mean serum CRP concentration among six children with a culture-positive urinary tract infection (16.3 (8.3) mg/l) and five with otitis media (9 (5.7) mg/l) was similar to those with NBI. The sensitivity of serum CRP > or = 40 mg/l for diagnosis of bacteraemia was 95% and the positive predictive value 67%. On serial monitoring, a fall in the CRP concentration was a sensitive indicator of recovery from infection and provided the earliest clue to therapeutic response long before a fall in temperature.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]