C-reactive protein and its association with COVID-19: A preliminary study during the first wave of pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in North-East India

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is the third serious Coronavirus outbreak after severe acute respiratory syndrome (2002–2003) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (2012). There is an increasing need for a credible marker to triage patients and for telescoping the prognosis of COVID-19 more so in resource-constrained settings. COVID-19 patients were found to have a significant increase of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (20–50 mg/L). Severe COVID-19 patients were noted to have up to 86% elevated CRP. 10-fold higher CRP was found in patients who died from COVID-19 than the recovered cases. Objectives: To demonstrate the association of CRP levels with COVID-19 infected patients and to assess the findings in accordance with different variables. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three nonconsecutive COVID-19 tested positive patients whose blood samples were sent for CRP testing were included for a retrospective study conducted between August 2020 and February 2021. Results: This study revealed elevation in CRP levels in patients belonging to severe cases (median = 46.71 mg/L) followed by moderate (median = 21.61 mg/L) and mild cases (median = 8.572 mg/L). Patients with comorbidities were noted to have higher median CRP (37.86 mg/L) compared to those without comorbidities (median = 20.3 mg/L). This study also detected increased CRP levels (median = 43.732 mg/L) in morbid cases compared to recovered cases (median = 20.3 mg/L). Conclusion: In a hospital with limited resources, this study successfully demonstrated the significant role of CRP in COVID-19 outcome elucidating the importance of CRP levels when used for triaging patients and monitoring disease progression. © 2022 Journal of Medical Society ;Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.