C-Reactive Protein for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment Response Monitoring in Children

TL;DR

This study explores the use of C-reactive protein (CRP) to monitor treatment response in children with tuberculosis, despite its limited usefulness for initial diagnosis.

Contribution

The study identifies CRP as a potential marker for tracking treatment progress in children with TB, even though it is not effective for initial screening.

Findings

CRP levels decreased significantly during TB treatment in both confirmed and unconfirmed cases.

CRP's diagnostic sensitivity was low (35.5%–50.0%) for TB screening in children.

Children with baseline CRP elevation showed a notable decrease during treatment.

Abstract

C-reactive protein (CRP) was evaluated as a biomarker for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment response monitoring in 292 Kenyan children. Although diagnostic sensitivity was suboptimal (35.5%–50.0%), the median CRP level decreased during TB treatment in children with confirmed (P = .02) or unconfirmed (P < .001) TB, primarily among those with baseline CRP elevation ≥5 mg/L (40% [39 of 97]).

Baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were similar in children with and without tuberculosis, but decreased significantly during treatment in confirmed (P = .02) and unconfirmed (P < .001) tuberculosis. While CRP's diagnostic screening performance was suboptimal, findings suggest potential utility for treatment response monitoring.

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