C- REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVELS AMONG COVID-19 POSITIVE CASES PRESENTING IN GULAB DEVI HOSPITAL LAHORE: A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background & Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious virus associated with the development of COVID 19. Lack of valid biomarkers makes it difficult to predict disease severity. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase inflammatory marker that which may predict COVID-19 infection and its severity. The aim of this study was to describe the CRP levels in COVID- 19 positive cases presenting in Gulab Devi hospital Lahore.
 Methods: In this cross sectional study conducted in Gulab Devi Hospital Lahore for six month, 100 COVID- 19 positive cases were selected using convenient sampling technique. About 3 ml of venous blood was drawn for qualitative and semi-quantitative titration analyses to determine CRP concentration in blood. Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS version-26 to describe the levels of CRP in relation to clinical features and disease severity.
 Results: CRP levels were elevated above normal range in 93% COVID-19 positive cases. Patients with severe infection had high levels of CRP (>6mg/L, range: 12-96 mg/L), mildly infected patients had moderate values of CRP and recovering patients of COVID-19 showed lowest value of CRP (<3mg/L ).
 Conclusion: The serum CRP level was substantially higher in COVID-19 positive cases in this study. CRP is an inexpensive, rapid test available to physicians for early detection of COVID-19 severity. Determining CRP levels can also help physicians to identify patients at higher risk of mortality and complications.