The value of C-reactive protein and lactate in the acute abdomen in the emergency department

CASE PRESENTATION: This report describes the presentation of three critically ill patients with non-traumatic acute abdominal pain and increased concentrations of the biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate. In these three patients an exploratory laparotomy was carried out. Remarkably, the laparotomy showed no intra-abdominal abnormalities. We discuss the usefulness of these biomarkers in practice and their influence on establishing a diagnose and making a decision to perform an intervention. CONCLUSION: We conclude that biomarkers lactate and CRP in patients with acute abdominal pain should only be used in adjunct to the history and clinical findings, as they are not specific and can be misleading in establishing a diagnosis. In addition, relying on these biomarkers may contribute to more diagnostic examinations and/or unnecessary invasive interventions (for example laparotomy).