C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Quantitative

Casandra

Casandra Test Code LC80951Version 1 (DRAFT)

Performing Lab

Lab LabcorpLab Test ID 006627CPT Code 86140

C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Quantitative

Clinical Use

Use

CRP is an acute phase reactant, which can be used as a test for inflammatory diseases, infections, and neoplastic diseases. Progressive increases correlate with increases of inflammation/injury. CRP is a more sensitive, rapidly responding indicator than ESR. CRP may be used to detect early postoperative wound infection and to follow therapeutic response to anti-inflammatory agents. Recent reports have indicated that a highly sensitive version of the CRP assay may be used as an additional indicator for susceptibility to cardiac disease.

Special Instructions

The test is used for evaluating inflammation levels which can assist in distinguishing between different health conditions, such as Crohn's disease versus ulcerative colitis, and rheumatoid arthritis versus lupus. It can also be helpful in post-surgery monitoring and cardiac event evaluation.

Limitations

CRP levels increase as a nonspecific response to tissue injury and inflammation, thus its elevation alone cannot determine the specific cause of inflammation and must be interpreted within the context of other clinical and diagnostic information.

Test Details