title: C-reactive protein as a diagnostic and prognostic factor in inflammatory bowel diseases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study aimed to evaluate high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) as a diagnostic and predictive marker in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical history of 106 patients with IBD revealed hsCRP concentrations at diagnosis and during the follow-up period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study showed that the majority of investigated patients had elevated hsCRP concentrations at diagnosis, although the mean concentration was much higher in the group of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) than the group with ulcerative colitis (UC) (P<0.001). The overall decrease in mean hsCRP concentration observed during the follow-up period was larger in the group of CD patients. The analysis showed a correlation between hsCRP concentrations at diagnosis and risk of surgery in the group of CD patients (r=0.408, P=0.002), but not in the group of UC patients. In a logistic regression analysis, surgery in CD patients was associated with age (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.8-1.0, P=0.05) and hsCRP concentration (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.0-1.04, P=0.03) at diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HsCRP might be a useful diagnostic marker in differentiating active IBD from other diseases. Particularly important however seems to be the predictive value of hsCRP at diagnosis in prognosing the clinical outcome of the disease in CD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Human Nutrition and Internal Disases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mańkowska-Wierzbicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karczewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poniedziałek
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grzymisławska
authors.affiliation: Department of Hypertensiology, Angiology and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Staszewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Królczyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Human Nutrition and Internal Disases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobrowolska
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Diseases, Metablism and Nutrition, Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grzymisławski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein