How useful is CRP as a marker for assessing disease activity in PsA?

Key clinical point: Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a classic inflammatory marker, do not adequately reflect the level of disease activity (DA) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Major finding: CRP status was only associated with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (odds ratio 1.04; P  =  .005) and not with any DA-related parameter. Among patients with normal CRP levels, a substantial proportion (45.9%) of patients were in non-minimal DA state, with 21.2% having moderate DA and 5.9% having high DA.

Study details: Findings are from a cross-sectional study including 128 patients with PsA, of which 66.4% had normal CRP levels (≤0.5 mg/dL) and the remaining had high CRP levels (>0.5 mg/dL).

,

Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Gialouri CG et al. Normal C-reactive protein in active psoriatic arthritis: Results from real-world clinical practice. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2022 (Sep 5). Doi: 10.1177/1759720X221122417