Question
What does the CRP response indicate?
Answer
When bacterial infections cause inflammation, CRP (C-reactive protein) begins to rise within 4 to 7 hours after the onset of inflammation, and the extent of its rise corresponds to the severity of the bacterial infection. During viral infections, CRP does not increase, which can be used to differentiate the nature of the infection and guide clinical diagnosis and treatment, avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use and effectively preventing antibiotic resistance. Such infections are commonly seen in clinical settings, including pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, bacterial meningitis, typhoid fever, purulent arthritis, urinary tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, appendicitis, and others.