Clinical value of prealbumin and C-reactive protein in children with bacterial community acquired pneumonia

Objective To investigate the clinical value of prealbumin (PA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level for the diagnosis of children patients with bacterial community acquired pneumonia (CAP).Methods Seventy-two children with bacterial CAP (CAP group) between July 2012 and December 2013 were enrolled in the study.Fifty healthy children were selected as healthy control group.The level of serum PA and CRP were measured by flow cytometry and turbidimetric immunoassay respectively.The results were compared.Results Before treatment,the level of CRP in CAP group was higher than that in healthy control group,and the level of PA in CAP group was lower than that in healthy control group,there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.01).The level of white blood cell count and the rate of neutrophilic granulocyte in CAP group was higher than that in healthy control group,but there was no significant difference(P ＞ 0.05).After treatment,the level of CRP in CAP group was decreased and the level of PA was increased,there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).Pearson analysis showed that the level of CRP in CAP patients had negative relationship with the level of PA (r =-0.613,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Detection of serum PA and CRP contributes to clinical diagnosis of children bacterial CAP and evaluation of anti-infection effect. Key words: Prealbumin;  C-reactive protein;  Pneumonia;  Children