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Low CRP During A Terrible Flare... Anyone Know Why?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/20/2020 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hello! I was recently hospitalized for a severe flare-up of ulcerative colitis. What I find strange is that my CRP upon admission to the ER was actually LOWER (2.11) than it is now (2.69) — it's a month later and I'm currently tapering Prednisone before starting Humira.

At the time of my admission to the hospital, I was not taking any medication at all and I was supplementing with ~6g of curcumin per day.

Anyone have any idea why my CRP would have been so low when I was clearly experincing mega inflammation???
Posted 11/20/2020 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
Blood work rarely captures inflammation in the colon. CRP is a measure of serious infection so it's not very sensitive in picking up colon inflammation. My CRP is always under 2 (range I see is 0-9) even during a flare. stool sample tests, like fecal calproctecin, are way more accurate. I ask for these tests instead from my GI.

Your CRP is very low and it doesn't matter if it's 2.11 vs. 2.69 since the normal range is anything below 10 for adults.
Posted 11/20/2020 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto Jane. For many UC patients, CRP is just not sensitive to bowel inflammation. Calprotectin is a better marker, especially if you suffer worst in the rectum.
The highest my CRP has ever been is 9.8 and that was during my first and worst flare with pancolitis.
Usually it hovers around 2-3, even when I'm flaring.
In fact one time my CRP was 0.7 and calprotectin was 1600 on the same day....
Posted 11/21/2020 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
CRP is extremely unreliable for a lot of IBD folks. My CRP is always close to zero(Even at the time of diagnosis with severe inflammation with pancolitis). Calprotectin is pretty reliable. Lactoferrin is also somewhat reliable but is less accurate than Calprotectin afaik.
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