High sensitivity C-reactive protein in clinical practice.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative clinical review without primary human trial data or systematic review methodology.
PubMed 15785190 · doi:10.1111/j.1541-9215.2003.02109.x
What was done
Narrative review evaluating the role of inflammatory markers, specifically high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), in global cardiovascular risk assessment alongside traditional lipid profiling.
What was found
The abstract reports established hs-CRP risk stratification thresholds in apparently healthy men and women: <1 mg/L for low risk, 1 to 3 mg/L for moderate risk, and >3 mg/L for high risk of future cardiovascular disease. It states that hs-CRP predicts risk across all levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, Framingham Risk Scores, and metabolic syndrome. No primary quantitative effect sizes, risk ratios, or patient counts are reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
Highlights the utility of hs-CRP clinical cutoffs (<1, 1-3, >3 mg/L) as an adjunct to standard lipid screening to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in primary prevention.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic search protocol and formal quality appraisal. The abstract provides no quantitative effect sizes, confidence intervals, sample sizes, or demographic details of the underlying studies.
Cited by
- supports A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level above 1 to 2 mg/L indicates a chronic inflammatory condition.