COVID-19 and C-reactive protein associated with acute inflammation in patients treated at the CLINILAB clinical analysis laboratory

Abstract

COVID-19 infection can cause systemic inflammatory responses, leading to serious complications such as pneumonia due to its high infectious lethality, especially in critically ill patients. As a result, biomarkers have been developed to determine inflammatory processes.  The study aimed to determine the levels of C-reactive protein in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were treated at the CLINILAB clinical analysis laboratory between 2020 and 2021. A descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional court study methodology was applied, with a quantitative approach and a sample of 155 patients who met all the inclusion criteria. As a result, the frequency of positive cases for COVID-19 was 63.9% (n=99), of which 32.9% (n=51) were male and 31% (n=48) were female. Values above 6.0 mg/L of C-reactive protein were found in 40.4% (n=40) of patients with COVID-19, which was consistent with an acute inflammatory process, while 59.6% (n=59) maintained normal levels. No statistically significant association was observed between elevated C-reactive protein levels in patients with COVID-19 (p=0.423). In conclusion, it is important to implement C-reactive protein as a complementary test in comprehensive clinical contexts. Furthermore, given the high frequency of positive COVID-19 cases, it is essential to promote differentiated preventive strategies in different age groups through clinical monitoring.