Comparative evaluation of efficacy of C-reactive protein versus total leucocyte count as marker for monitoring patients with orofacial space infection of odontogenic origin

Objective: To compare and evaluate the efficacy of C-Reactive Protein and total leucocyte count as markers for monitoring patients of odontogenic space infection. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were taken preoperatively and post-operatively at day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 7 for measuring the levels of CRP and TLC. The trends of CRP and TLC were analysed against the Clinical Severity Scale (CSS). The study was carried out on patients of odontogenic space infection, and minimum of 50 patients were selected for this study. Comparative evaluation of C-reactive protein (CRP) versus total leucocyte count (TLC) was performed. Results: Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Inferential statistics were performed using Spearman Correlation . The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. The result of the study demonstrates that the C-reactive protein (CRP) was found to be more consistent indicator for monitoring the patients of odontogenic space infection than TLC, Differential Leucocyte Count (DLC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Conclusion: We conclude that CRP should be incorporated as monitoring tool, and it serves as a better indicator than TLC for managing patients with orofacial space infections of odontogenic origin.