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Rapid diagnosis
When a patient is seriously ill, it is of utmost importance that treatment can be started as soon as
possible. CRP is a valuable tool in ensuring a correct diagnosis and determining the need for further
treatment. It is therefore crucial that the result of the CRP test is available to the physician as
quickly as possible. The increased pressure for rapid diagnosis and treatment has in many cases removed
the CRP test from the clinical laboratory to the point-of-care setting.
In children
In paediatrics, CRP is a convenient diagnostic tool because of the small volume of sample required
and the suitability of whole blood samples for the test. A short therapeutic turn-around time for the
CRP result is often necessary for an early and rapid intervention to inhibit the progression of severe
bacterial infections in children. Furthermore, as children are susceptible to frequent respiratory tract
infections, and primary care clinics are often contacted because of these, rapid CRP tests may be used to
differentiate between viral and bacterial infections and, consequently, to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial
treatments.
In geriatry
Elderly patients sometimes have massive infections with no fever, no abnormal cell counts etc. A CRP test
can help the physician to detect bacterial infections, which, if left untreated, contribute to excessive
morbidity in the elderly.
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