Serum C-Reactive Protein Greater than 75 mg/dl as an Early Available
Laboratory Predictor of Severe COVID-19: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Severe COVID-19 management is still challenging.
Having a laboratory factor to predict the severity of a patient’s
condition can be very useful in how to approach each patient. There have
been studies concentrating on the correlation between serum C-reactive
protein (CRP) level and COVID-19 severity but we aim to reach a
threshold for CRP in disease severity determination. Methods We
conducted a thorough search on PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar
databases, and 323 studies were assessed for eligibility in three
phases. The T-test was applied for the CRP level cutoffs. Results
Eventually, 11 articles and 1615 patients were included in this
systematic review. Our analysis evaluated combined mean, median, and
standard deviation of severe patients’ CRP to be respectively 73.37,
53.80 and 47.936. Based on the combined mean, 75mg/dl was suggested as
an initial threshold for baseline CRP in hospitalized patients for
developing severe conditions. Conclusion This study recommends that
COVID-19 patients with on-admission serum CRP levels of 75 mg/dl and
more are likely associated with severe conditions. Thus,
anti-inflammatory agents and further following may be helpful in these
patients.