Clinical significance of serum CRP measurement in arthritis

The concentration of serum CRP was measured in 140 patients with acute and chronic arthritis and compared with the level of ESR.CRP was remarkably elevated in 98% of the patients with active disease and it returned to normal limit in 92% of the patients in the remission phase after proper treatment.In contrast,ESR was increased in 83% of cases with active lesions,but its level in 70% of cases remained abnormal even through their disease was fully remitted.This sugges that serum CRP measurement is much more significant than ESR in the determination of the activity and severity in patients with inflammatory arthropathies and it is helpful in the guidance of arthritis treatment.