Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of CRP and TLC as markers for monitoring the course of odontogenic space infections (OSI) in 50 patients. METHODS: A Clinical severity scale (CSS) was developed to grade the severity of infections in patients. Blood samples were taken preoperatively and postoperatively at day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 7 for measuring the levels of CRP and TLC. The trends of CRP and TLC were analysed against the CSS. The data was subjected to paired "t" test, ANOVA, Spearman rank correlation, Pearson's bivariate correlation as appropriate. RESULTS: The CRP values were elevated in all 50/50 (100 %) patients as compared to TLC which were elevated in 32/50 (64 %) patients only. The CSS displayed a high internal consistency and reliability (Cronbach α = 0.748). A significant strong positive correlation (ρ = 0.754) was found between CRP and CSS as compared to a moderate correlation (ρ = .607) between TLC and CSS. CONCLUSION: CRP displayed a more consistent relation with clinical severity of the infection than TLC. Hence it could be more reliably employed to judge the progress in a patient with OSI.