Frontiers in Pediatrics (Nov 2014)
Detection and Potential Utility of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in Saliva of Neonates
Abstract
Objective: We aimed to detect CRP in neonatal saliva and evaluate its diagnostic utility. Study Design: Salivary and serum samples (n=89) were collected from 40 neonates. Salivary CRP levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); serum CRP was measured per hospital protocol. Correlation coefficients with 95% confidence intervals and robust linear regression measured association while receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves described the accuracy of salivary CRP in discriminating abnormal serum CRP thresholds of ≥ 10 mg/L and 5 mg/L. Corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated for these salivary cutpoints. Results: The Area Under the Curve (AUC) for salivary CRP in predicting serum CRP levels of ≥ 10 mg/L and 5mg/L were 0.81 and 0.76, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity for raw salivary CRP to discriminate a serum CRP of ≥ 5 mg/L was 0.54 and 0.95, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity for raw salivary CRP to discriminate a serum CRP of ≥ 10 mg/L was 0.64 and 0.94, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was observed between serum and salivary CRP (r = 0.62, p < 0.001). Conclusions: CRP is detectable in neonatal saliva and can predict abnormal serum CRP thresholds. Salivary CRP analysis represents a feasible screening tool for detecting abnormal serum CRP levels.
Keywords
