Comparative study between C-reactive protein and white blood cell count,erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the early efficacy assessment of lung infection

Objective To investigate the differences between the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in assessing the early efficacy of lung infection. Methods The subjects were analyzed 63 patients with pulmonary infection, including 33 patients in the aged and elderly people with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), 30 patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and pulmonary infection; 28 healthy people as control group. The CRP, WBC and ESR levels were detected before treatment and on the 3rd, 7th, 14th days after treatment. Results CRP levels rised rapidly in patients with pulmonary infection and declined significantly 3 days later after antiinfection therapy; While WBC, ESR levels in lung infection increased slow ly and decreased gradually after effective treatment. On the fourteenth day after treatment, the patients′ CRP levels de creased to normal range, most patients′ WBC levels to normal range too, but many patients′ ESR levels were still higher than normal level. Conclusion The value of CRP in assessing the early anti-infection efficacy of pulmonary infection is greater than WBC and ESR.