C-Reactive Protein for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment Response Monitoring in Children - Summary - MDSpire

C-Reactive Protein for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment Response Monitoring in Children

  • By

  • Joy Githua

  • Jerphason Mecha

  • Joshua Stern

  • Jaclyn N Escudero

  • Lilian Njagi

  • Lucy Kijaro

  • Jacqueline Mirera

  • Wilfred Murithi

  • Grace John-Stewart

  • Elizabeth Maleche-Obimbo

  • Videlis Nduba

  • Sylvia M LaCourse

  • January 7, 2026

  • 0 min

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Objective:

To evaluate C-reactive protein (CRP) as a diagnostic and treatment response monitoring tool for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Kenyan children aged ≤15 years.

Key Findings:
  • CRP sensitivity for confirmed TB was 50.0% at a 5 mg/L threshold and decreased to 44.4% at 10 mg/L, indicating a need for improved diagnostic methods.
  • CRP sensitivity for unconfirmed TB was 35.5% at 5 mg/L and 28.4% at 10 mg/L.
  • Median CRP levels decreased significantly during treatment in children with elevated baseline CRP (≥5 mg/L).
Interpretation:

While CRP shows potential for monitoring treatment response in pediatric TB, its diagnostic sensitivity remains suboptimal, highlighting the need for improved diagnostic methods.

Limitations:
  • Low sensitivity of CRP for diagnosing TB, which may affect clinical decision-making.
  • Potential reporting errors in CRP results due to laboratory issues, impacting the reliability of findings.
Conclusion:

CRP may be useful for monitoring treatment response in pediatric TB but is not reliable for diagnosis, underscoring the need for better diagnostic tools.

Original Source(s)

C-Reactive Protein for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment Response Monitoring in Children

  • by Joy Githua, Jerphason Mecha, Joshua Stern, Jaclyn N Escudero, Lilian Njagi, Lucy Kijaro, Jacqueline Mirera, Wilfred Murithi, Grace John-Stewart, Elizabeth Maleche-Obimbo, Videlis Nduba, Sylvia M LaCourse

  • January 7, 2026

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