Association of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test Results with The Decision on Cytological Examination of Pleural Effusion Fluid

Background: Pleural effusion is an abnormal collection of fluid within the pleural lining resulting from a disturbance in the balance affecting the inflow and outflow from the area. Pleural fluid is associated with various medical diseases such as heart failure, pneumonia, and malignancy. Rapid and accurate diagnosis remains a major clinical challenge in patients with suspected pleural infection. As clinical data may be elusive, measurement of biomarkers in pleural fluid can estimate the likelihood of infection, and C-reactive protein (CRP) is the biomarker of choice for detecting inflammatory states. Method: The research method used in this study is descriptive research. This study was conducted at the anatomical pathology laboratory of Siloam Jambi Hospital in March - June 2023. The population in this study was 57 patients with pleural effusion. The samples in this study were all pleural effusion patients who performed Cytology and CRP examinations at Siloam Jambi Hospital from March-June 2023 at the Anatomical Pathology Laboratory Unit of Siloam Jambi Hospital. Result: The CRP test results in the group with cytology examination decision which were categorized in the inflammation group had an average of 6.6 ± 1.83 mg/L. CRP continued to increase in adenocarcinoma group (46 ± 19.03 mg/L) and metastatic carcinoma group (105.6 ± 48.68 mg/L). There was a very significant increase in the CRP test results along with an increase in the decision of the results of the pleural fluid cytology examination (p-value <0.01). Conclusion: CRP test results show potential in predicting cytology examination decisions in patients with pleural effusion.