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I am a rural GP but don’t fish – or try not to.
I agree that qualitative studies are lacking and as a “ GP principal for 24 years” I would like to share my real life experience. Last year I recorded 202 point of care CRP tests. In approximately two thirds the test helped me exclude significant illness, and in about one in five it was useful to help identify serious illness.
Exclusion of significant pathology:
In 80 cases a low CRP helped avoid giving antibiotics or other medications by answering specific questions e.g.
- Is this exacerbation of COPD infective?
- Is this vague abdominal tenderness an infective exacerbation of diverticulitis or just IBS?
- Is this unilateral headache and borderline tenderness temporal arteritis?Avoiding admission:
In 14 cases a low CRP helped avoid admission including:
- 1 patient with a vague confusion ? toxic ? from pre-existing dementia
- 1 patient with a headache ? infective ? migraine
- 1 ? septic arthritis
- 3 ? appendicitisProviding reassurance:
- In 40 cases, a normal test reinforced reassurance, reducing anxiety and the need for follow...Competing Interests: None declared.