Value of C-reactive protein after neurosurgery: a prospective study

Aim. The aim of this manuscript is to review the current state of knowledge regarding C-reactive protein (CRP) kinetics after standard neurosurgical procedures, and to determine the value of CRP as a screening test for early post-operative infectious complications as opposed to other more commonly used tests, and as a marker of peri-operative surgical insult. Methods. Over 18 months period, CRP levels, alongside with ESR and WCC were assessed pre-operatively (at day 0) and post-operatively (at days 1,2,3,4 and 5) in 50 consecutive female patients and 50 consecutive male patients undergoing seven neurosurgical procedures. Each of the seven procedures involved a different level of intra-operative trauma. Factors of possible influences on CRP, including volume of blood transfused intra-operatively, type of anaesthetic administered, use of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics levels were recorded. Results. The median age of our study population was 29.1 (mean +/- SD: 28.4 +/- 10.2; range: 20.4-53.8). Of the 100 patients recruited for our study, 13 developed post-operative infectious complications. In these patients, a secondary CRP rise or failure to decrease as expected had sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value of 100%, 93.1%, 100% and 68.4%, respectively, for detecting infectious complications. The mean post-operative CRP levels were highest in the most surgically traumatic procedure - Lobotomy for epilepsy intervention and lowest in the least surgically traumatic procedure stereotactic brain biopsy (p<0.001). Volume of blood transfused intra-operatively, type of anaesthetic administered, use of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics levels did not affect CRP kinetics. Conclusion. The results of this study suggest that CRP is a more reliable screening test for post-operative infectious complications in the practice of neurosurgery than other more commonly used tests (WCC and ESR). Furthermore, the results suggest that peak post-operative CRP levels mirrors the level of incurred intra-operative surgical insult.