Significance of C-reactive protein in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia

Objective To study the significance of C-reactive protein(CRP) in community-acquired pneumonia(CAP).Methods 120 cases of community-acquired pneumonia treated from August 2009 to August 2012 were selected as observation group.At the same time,80 healthy controls were randomly selected.Both groups were examined for fasting venous blood within 24 h on admission,serum was separated and then measured for WBC count.Meanwhile,body temperature was taken in both groups 3~4 times per day.Latex immune nephelometry was used to measure the serum level of CRP,and the upper limit of normal CRP was 8 mg/L.T-test was used for processing measurement data and χ2 test for count data;P0.05 indicated that the difference was statistically significant.Results In observation group,those with CRP8 mg/L accounted for 95.0%,those with WBC 10×109/L for 20.0%,and those with body temperature36.8℃ for 71.7%;In control group,CRP、WBC and body temperature were normal.The serum level of CRP,WBC count and body temperature were(48.31±20.34)mg/L,(9.88±2.34)×109/L and(38.10±0.62)℃ respectively in observation group and(4.62±2.17)mg/L,(5.34±1.29)×109/L and(36.83±0.15)℃ respectively in control group.Significant difference was found between the two groups(all P0.05).Conclusion Serum levels of CRP are sensitive indicators to auxiliary diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia,which are of clinical significance.