title: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study whether high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) measurement can aid the assessment of disease activity and glucocorticoid treatment in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
  
  
  METHODS
  CRP levels were measured in 39 children with IBD undergoing colonoscopy [median age 12.8 years, Crohn's disease (CD) n = 20], in 22 other children with IBD followed for acute response to glucocorticoids, and in 33 paediatric non-IBD patients. When standard CRP level was below detection limit (< 5 mg/L), hs-CRP was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-four percent (25/39) of the children with IBD undergoing colonoscopy displayed undetectable (< 5 mg/L) standard CRP levels. Of these, the hs-CRP measurement could not differentiate between active (median, 0.2 mg/L, range, 0.007-1.37, n = 17) or quiescent (0.1 mg/L, 0.01-1.89, n = 8, P = NS) disease. Patients with ileocolonic CD had higher CRP levels (14 mg/L, 0.06-45, n = 13) than patients with no ileal involvement (0.18 mg/L, 0.01-9, n = 7, P < 0.01) or ulcerative colitis (UC) (0.13 mg/L, 0.007-23, P < 0.05). In children with active IBD treated with systemic glucocorticoids, the standard CRP was undetectable in 59% of the patients. The hs-CRP levels did not differ between patients that responded to steroid therapy and in non-responders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The measurement of hs-CRP did not prove useful in the assessment of disease activity or glucocorticoid treatment in paediatric IBD patients that had undetectable standard CRP.
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FIN-00029, Finland. marianne.sidoroff@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sidoroff
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karikoski
authors.forename: Taneli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raivio
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Savilahti
authors.forename: Kaija-Leena
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kolho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D002097:C-Reactive Protein