C-reactive Protein As A Diagnostic And Prognostic Marker Of Hospital-acquired Pneumonia

Objective: C-reactive protein(CRP) levels, body temperature and white cell count (WCC) were evaluated after prescription of antibiotics in order to describe the clinical resolution of Hospital-acquired Pneumonia (HAP) .Methods: The study was conducted in medical intensive care unit. All 20 patients with microbiologically proven HAP were included and grouped according to clinical outcome: survivors or nonsurvivors CRP levels, body temperature and WCC were monitored daily.Results: Among the 20 patients included, 8 died. Body temperature and WCC remained almost unchanged between two groups. Patients were divided into four groups according to their CRP patterns of response to antibiotics: fast response, slow response, nonresponse, and biphasic response. All patients with fast response patterns and most patients with slow response survived, whereas those showing nonresponse and a biphasic response pattern exhibited a mortality of 100%, respectively. CRP levels and CRP ratios decreased during the clinical course of HAP in survivors but were significantly higher in nonsurvivors.Conclusion: Multivariated analyses retained CRP levels and CRP ratio after antibiotic prescription were useful in the identification of HAP patients with poor outcome.Based on these data CRP could be a diagnostic and prognostic marker of outcome during HAP.