C-reactive protein levels in acute respiratory exacerbations of cystic fibrosis

Gayan Kathriachchige; Christopher Daley; Michael Pallin; Kevan Polkinghorne; Paul T King

doi:10.1111/imj.14106

C-reactive protein levels in acute respiratory exacerbations of cystic fibrosis

Intern Med J. 2018 Nov;48(11):1392-1395. doi: 10.1111/imj.14106.

Authors

Gayan Kathriachchige¹, Christopher Daley¹, Michael Pallin¹, Kevan Polkinghorne^{2

3}, Paul T King^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Monash Lung and Sleep Department, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Nephrology, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 30387311
DOI: 10.1111/imj.14106

Abstract

C-reactive protein (CRP) levels increase in response to bacterial infection and have been used to guide the use of antibiotics. We assessed CRP levels in a cohort of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) admitted to hospital with an exacerbation of their lung disease, requiring treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. In this group, most subjects had CRP levels of less than 20 mg/L, including patients who had pneumonia. The clinical utility of the CRP in guiding antibiotic use in exacerbations of CF is limited.

Keywords: C-reactive protein; antibiotic; exacerbation; pneumonia.

MeSH terms

Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
Bacterial Infections / blood*
Bacterial Infections / drug therapy
Biomarkers / blood
C-Reactive Protein / metabolism*
Case-Control Studies
Cystic Fibrosis / blood*
Cystic Fibrosis / microbiology
Female
Forced Expiratory Volume
Humans
Length of Stay
Male
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index*
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Young Adult

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Biomarkers
C-Reactive Protein