C-reactive protein in the diagnosis of melioidosis.

Previous work suggested that C-reactive protein (CRP) may be a useful test in the diagnosis of melioidosis, the infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. We reviewed patients with culture-confirmed melioidosis to define the role of this inflammatory marker in the diagnosis of melioidosis. In 175 patients, we found that the admission CRP level may be normal or only mildly elevated, including patients with severe sepsis, fatal cases, and in relapsed melioidosis. In a multivariate analysis, sepsis and bacteremia were more strongly associated with mortality than CRP. Admission levels of CRP are not a sensitive marker for the presence of melioidosis and a normal level cannot be used to exclude acute, chronic, or relapsed melioidosis in febrile patients in or from endemic regions.