Dynamic CRP Measurement: A Better Way to Evaluate for Bacterial Infection?

A clinical challenge in evaluating children with fever is differentiating between a bacterial infection that requires antibiotics and a viral infection that generally self-resolves. A surrogate marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), has been used to help determine risk for bacterial infection. However, given its short half-life, a single measurement may not be as predictive as multiple measurements, which are difficult to perform in an acute care setting.

Researchers have evaluated whether accuracy of a single CRP measurement in diagnosing bacterial infection varies within the timeframe of fever duration. They enrolled 373 children (age range, 0–16 years) who presented with fever at a single emergency department. Diagnoses were classified as vira…