MEASUREMENT OF SERUM-C REACTIVE PROTEIN-CONCENTRATION AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION FOR LEUKEMIA

C reactive protein [CRP] concentration was measured serially in 19 patients with leukemia after bone marrow transplantation. Six episodes of graft vs. host disease [GVHD] occurred in the presence of fever but with no evidence of infection, and these were associated with CRP concentrations as high as 200 mg/l. CRP values were also increased in 2 febrile episodes associated with infection, in 7 of which GVHD was also present. CRP concentrations are of no value in differentiating infection from GVHD but in both cases they may be useful as an objective index of response to appropriate treatment.