C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AS A CRITERION OF TREATMENT EFFICACY OF PATIENTS WITH PURULENT-NECROTIC SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS BY MEANS OF VACUUM THERAPY
In recent decades, a method of treating acute and chronic wounds with the use of negative pressure has aroused great interest. Among the biochemical parameters, the dynamics of the C-reactive protein (CRP) content has not been studied sufficiently, and the correlation of the CRP content when using physical methods for treating chronic wounds is unknown. Objectives. To study the determining of CRP content in the blood serum of patients as an objective laboratory criterion for the effectiveness of treating of patients with purulent-necrotic soft tissue infections of various localizations using vacuum therapy. Material and methods. A prospective non-randomized observational study involved 24 patients. To achieve the set goal, all patients were divided into groups: group 1 included patients who received vacuum therapy during general treatment (n=13); group 2 was composed of patients who underwent traditional treatment (n=11). In patients of both groups, blood samples were taken to determine the CRP content before surgery, in 2 days after surgery, and in 5 days after surgery. Results. At the first stage of the study, the blood serum CRP content in patients was 106.70 (29.12; 184.17) mg/l, at the second stage, a slight decrease in CRP was observed, which made up 41.13 (17.61; 172.46) mg/l (p>0.05). At the third stage, the CRP content decreased compared to the first and the second stages - 39.24 (8.31; 94.32) mg/l (p=0.01). The level of CRP at the first stage in group 1 equalled 101.09 (30.59; 206.99) mg/l, and in group 2 - 112.3 (22.10; 150.71) mg/l (p>0.05). The CRP content at the second stage amounted to 33.50 (12.51; 132.82) mg/l in group 1 and 107.74 (31.36; 177.75) mg/l in group 2 (p>0.05). At the third stage, the CRP level was 13.88 (05.94; 104.12) mg/l in group 1 and 52.97 (18.28; 97.00) mg/l in group 2 (p<0.05). Conclusions. The monitoring of the C-reactive protein level in the blood serum is an objective laboratory criterion to evaluate the treatment effectiveness of patients with purulent-necrotic soft tissue infections by means of vacuum therapy.