C-reactive protein in patients who had operative fracture treatment

C-reactive protein as an indicator of infection, may help to detect surgica l complications early and provide a better outcome for patients. To obtain a baseline for the use of C-reactive protein, the kinetics of C-reactive pr otein levels of 330 patients who bad operative fracture treatment were stud ied before and after surgery. All patients who had an uneventful postoperat ive course had similar evolution in their C-reactive protein values: the pe ak level, which occurred on the second postoperative day, depended on the r egion of trauma (femoral fractures, 15.4 mg/dL versus ankle fractures, 3.5 mg/dL) and reflected the extent of surgical trauma. Of 47 patients with com plicated courses, C-reactive protein proved helpful as a marker in risk str atification and as an early indicator for infection. Of nine patients with a deep wound infection, a high rise of C-reactive protein was recorded, and seven patients showed a rise in the C-reactive protein level before the on set of clinical symptoms. A cut-off level of 14 mg/dL, on the fourth day af ter surgery was recorded for the patients with deep wound infection.