J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2000 Mar;11(1):66-71.

The Clinical Application of C-Reactive Protein in Acute Abdominal Pain

• Jang SJ
• Park JS
• Ko JW
• Chung SW
• Chung SP
• Hwang TS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints in the emergency department and the evaluation presents an extraordinary challenge to the emergency physician's skill. C-reactive protein, an acute phase protein which is increased in the presence of inflammation in various clinical conditions, has been proven useful in assessing disease severity, in monitoring the development of complications, and in evaluating the response to specific treatments. So we tried to determine whether CRP offers an advantage over other clinical or laboratory variables for decision-making in the management of acute abdominal pain in the emergency department. METHOD: Patients who came to a University Hospital ED with acute abdominal pain, between september 1, 1998 and November 30, 1998, were included in this study, Data collection included age, sex, duration of symptom, location of pain, and laboratory dta(white blood cell count, portion of neutrophils, ESR, CRP, amylase). RESULT: This study included 85 patients, 34 of whom were men. The mean age was 36.9+/-19.1 years. CRP might be useful to detect the serious condition, sensitivity 81%, but more useful to differentiate normal condition from serious condition in acute abdominal pain patients, specificity 83%.
CONCLUSION
CRP is an useful indicator of decision-making to abdominal patients in the emergency department. Hospitalization or operation is very unlikely when CRP value is normal.

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain*
Acute-Phase Proteins
Blood Cell Count
C-Reactive Protein*
Data Collection
Emergencies
Emergency Service, Hospital
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Humans
Inflammation
Male
Neutrophils
Sensitivity and Specificity
Acute-Phase Proteins
C-Reactive Protein