Comparative characteristics of the level of highly sensitive C-reactive protein in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the dependence of the concentration of C-reactive protein in the blood of patients on the severity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Material and methods. We examined 26 patients with SLE, the comparison group consisted of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 88). Results. The hsCRP level was significantly higher in patients with a high degree of activity than in patients with minimal and moderate SLE activity (F = 4.409, p = 0.023). In addition, in patients with SLE, a significant direct correlation was found between hsCRP and ESR values (r = 0.409, p = 0.047), antinuclear factor (r = 0.389, p = 0.021), antibodies to double-stranded DNA (r = 0.226, p = 0.033), leukocytes in urine (r = 0.571, p = 0.002), microalbuminuria (r = 0.727, p = 0.017) AsAT (r = 0.428, p = 0.046), and inverse correlation – with the value of blood leukocytes (r = –0.662, p < 0.001). Conclusion. It was found that an increase in the levels of hsCRP in the sera of SLE patients is accompanied by an increase in the degree of disease activity, which indicates a direct correlation between the level of hsCRP and SLE activity. Consequently, the concentration of hsCRP reflects the acute phase response and the intensity of the inflammatory process in SLE.