Jm. Wolff et al., EARLY DETECTION OF INFECTED URETERAL OBSTRUCTION AFTER SWL EMPLOYING C-REACTIVE PROTEIN, Journal of endourology, 10(6), 1996, pp. 523-526
Infection of the obstructed upper urinary tract is a severe complicati
on of stone disease, Early detection and therapy is crucial to prevent
septicemia, The authors investigated prospectively whether C-reactive
protein (CRP) might act as a marker for the early detection of infect
ed upper urinary tract obstruction, The serum concentration of CRP was
compared with the classic markers of inflammation-white blood cell (W
BC) count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and temperature-in th
e follow-up of 85 patients undergoing 173 extracorporeal shockwave lit
hotripsy (SWL) treatments, Post-SWL, 69% of the patients showed dilati
on of the upper tract on ultrasonography and 16.5% became symptomatic
and required intervention, In this group, the mean CRP value was incre
ased 18-fold, whereas the WBC count, ESR, and temperature were not mar
kedly raised, In contrast, patients with no need for additional treatm
ent showed no more than a 2-fold increase in CRP, C-Reactive protein s
eems to be a useful indicator for the early detection of infected uppe
r urinary tract obstruction.