Lab Med Online.  2012 Jan;2(1):20-27. 10.3343/lmo.2012.2.1.4.

Significance of Serum Eosinophil Cationic Protein and High-Sensitivity C-reactive Protein Levels in Patients with Allergic and Non-Allergic Inflammatory Diseases

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, Korea. jwchoi@inha.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
This study was conducted to evaluate the significance of serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in children with allergic diseases and non-allergic inflammatory diseases, and to assess the relationships between serum ECP levels and inflammatory parameters.
METHODS
In this study, we included 146 children with allergic diseases, 76 children with non-allergic inflammatory diseases, and 25 control subjects. Serum concentrations of ECP, hs-CRP, total IgE, and allergen-specific IgE were measured.
RESULTS
Serum ECP levels (77.5+/-88.2 microg/L) of patients with allergic diseases were significantly higher than those of the patients with non-allergic inflammatory diseases (42.2+/-58.8 microg/L) and control subjects (12.7+/-4.2 microg/L) (P<0.001, respectively). The serum ECP levels in patients with non-allergic inflammatory diseases were also significantly higher than those in the controls (42.2+/-58.8 vs. 12.7+/-4.2 microg/L; P<0.001). The hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in patients with allergic diseases than in the controls (0.4+/-0.9 vs. 0.1+/-0.2 mg/dL; P<0.05). No significant relationship was observed between serum ECP and hs-CRP levels in the allergic patients (r=0.09, P>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Measurement of serum ECP and hs-CRP concentrations can be helpful in the clinical evaluation and monitoring of patients with allergic diseases. No significant correlation was observed between serum ECP and hs-CRP levels in allergic patients, thereby suggesting that elevated levels of ECP do not necessarily reflect the degree of systemic inflammation in allergic diseases.

Keyword

Eosinophil cationic protein; High sensitivity C-reactive protein; Eosinophil; Immunoglobulin E; Allergic disease

MeSH Terms

C-Reactive Protein
Child
Eosinophil Cationic Protein
Eosinophils
Humans
Immunoglobulin E
Inflammation
C-Reactive Protein
Eosinophil Cationic Protein
Immunoglobulin E

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