One of the more frequent studies, if not the most frequent. What makes it so special ?
CRB is a C-reactive protein that will celebrate its 92nd anniversary this year. Investigating pneumococcal infection, 1930. discovered by William Tillett and Thomas Francis of Rockefeller University, found an acute-phase protein in the blood – C-reactive protein.
CRB is a protein produced in the liver when inflammation occurs in the body. This is why this test is so important in the diagnosis of inflammation, autoimmune diseases or later when chronic diseases need to be monitored.
The CRB will tell you what inflammation?
CRB is not very specific, as it cannot show where and what the inflammation is, but in combination with other tests, it can be very helpful in deciding whether to diagnose a disease.CRB levels can also help to decide what type of inflammation is present, whether it is acute, such as pneumonia, or chronic, such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is also useful because it can be used to monitor how well you are getting better as your levels change
Dj-CRB?
The high sensitivity C-reactive protein (dj-CRB) test is more sensitive than the standard CRB test. This means that a high sensitivity test can detect a small increase in the standard CRB level. The Dj-CRB test can be used to determine the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the test is not very sensitive and not widely used
When to have a CRB?
When you get sick acutely – with a fever, sore throat, earache, vomiting, diarrhoea, broken bones, sore muscles…
When you have chronic diseases such as. rheumatoid atritis – to monitor for exacerbations.
This test is often very important in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections. In rare cases, CRB levels are low in viral infections.
