CRP Levels of 175! so worried

[princesspeppax]

Posting AIBU for traffic. DS4 unwell and been admitted to hospital blood test CRP levels are 175 and I'm absolutely beside myself. Is this astronomically high? Has anybody had similar levels how long after starting antibiotics for them to settle? One scared mum right now

I have asked staff who have said its high and would indicate infection but other than that really not much other info 😥

It can be high with respiratory infections including flu & adenovirus.

Is he on a ward or in HDU/PICU? You can usually tell if your child is very very poorly by how concerned the nurses/drs and if they get moved to HDU etc

Get off Google.

@LadyFeatheringt0n I know google is the worst but sitting alone with my poorly boy in hospital my mind is in overdrive,

Hes in a ward. I appreciate your replys.

Don't worry.
With treatment the number is normal in a week.
Get well soon to ds4!

My DD was hospitalised last year with CRP levels of 220 - they never actually found the source of the infection and just classed it as sepsis. She had a course of IV antibiotics and was home within 48 hours. The antibiotics do seem to kick in quickly. Hopefully you’ll find your son has a quick turnaround too. It’s always horrible when your child is unwell.

DD1 had CRP levels of around 180 i think? when she was 24hrs old. She was immediately treated as if she had sepsis with antibiotics. She also had a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis. Then a couple of days later they confirmed the specific bacteria once the cultures had grown. By then the antibiotics were working for her and she was moved from NICU down to SCBU.

Your DS is in the right place if he has been admitted - hopefully the antibiotics start working for him and he starts to feel a bit better soon.

If he’s been admitted and is on antibiotics, his CRP will be coming down already, please try not to panic 🩷

CRP is an inflammatory marker ie it's a marker of immune response. It probably means he has an infection but it does not necessarily correlate to the severity. It means he is able to mount a good immune response which is a good thing. I really would not get hung up on this number. Simple stuff like temperature, resp rate, pulse and BP are far more important for monitoring purposes. I am sure he will be OK.

a high CRP on it's own doesn't mean very much at all beyond that there's an inflammatory (likely infective) process going on. As usual with blood tests, it needs interpreting in the context of all the other test results, examination findings and the response to treatment.

My CRP levels were over 500 last October. This was because my bowel was perforated during a hysterectomy and I developed sepsis.

My crp regularly goes above 450/500 and comes down very quickly with iv antibiotics

Mine was something like 280 last year with a kidney infection. I wasn’t admitted to hospital (although gp tried to but no beds). But actually I got better very quickly with oral antibiotics.

It can go very high with Covid too.

Thanks, he has been unwell for a week now back and forth from gp/a&e before being admitted. He is so small he just does not understand and i've never seen any of my kids like this i'm so worried. Your responses are all so helpful, I truly appreciate them they are so reassuring

Mine was over 450 with a kidney infection - the consultant said it was a good sign that my body was fighting hard. It quickly came down with antibiotics (and removal of offending kidney!)

Yes over Easter with ds age 9. His were 350 and came down once on IV antibiotics and fluids. He was in hospital for 5 nights then on oral antibiotics at home for another 4 days. Carlisle hospital thought it was sepsis but no cause found (he had chest x rays, urine tested and attempted brain MRI).

DS1 had this at about 6 months. A week of IV antibiotics and it went away never to return.
His CRP was similar and I could not keep his temperature down with OTC medication like Calpol.
The hospital sent us away first time but we went back later because of the fever. They did a blood test and admitted him.

He is now a healthy adult with no lasting effects.

Thankyou. He also showing protein in urine i've never been so scared. Hearing your storys are reassuring me more than you will understand

Protein in urine likely indicates a uti. They can make you very poorly.

How is he today, OP? Sending hugs x

So doctors have said no UTI, lymph nodes have swollen and throat looks sore. Bloods were took today and sent for a blood culture test which takes a few days I think