A student nurse on a medical-surgical floor is caring for a 62-year-old previously healthy female. The patient has been admitted for an infectious disease work-up. She has been experiencing generalized pain and nausea for the past three weeks, and recently developed a fever. The student nurse prepares to assist the RN in collecting blood for the following lab tests: complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), eosinophil sedimentation rate (ESR), blood culture, urine culture, and a lumbar puncture with cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) culture and cell count. The nurse is also collecting a sputum culture, as well as a respiratory PCR by nasopharyngeal suction.
-The patient's CRP is markedly elevated.What does this indicate?

Question

A student nurse on a medical-surgical floor is caring for a 62-year-old previously healthy female. The patient has been admitted for an infectious disease work-up. She has been experiencing generalized pain and nausea for the past three weeks, and recently developed a fever. The student nurse prepares to assist the RN in collecting blood for the following lab tests: complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), eosinophil sedimentation rate (ESR), blood culture, urine culture, and a lumbar puncture with cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) culture and cell count. The nurse is also collecting a sputum culture, as well as a respiratory PCR by nasopharyngeal suction. 
-The patient's CRP is markedly elevated.What does this indicate?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An elevated CRP is a non-specific marker of inflammation and can indicate infection, inflammation from trauma, autoimmune disease or malignancy. Further diagnostic testing is necessary to determine the source of inflammation.

A Student Nurse on a Medical-Surgical Floor Is Caring for a 62-Year-Old