Home Medical Info Tests CRP and HLA-B27

C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

Purpose: To detect inflammation in the body.

What is it?
C-reactive protein appears in the blood during inflammatory processes.

Normal results:
CRP levels greater than 8 micrograms per milliliter may indicate inflammation.

Notes:
While a positive or elevated CRP may indicate that there is an inflammatory process happening in the body, a normal or negative CRP does not mean that there is nothing wrong with the person. A person can have severe arthritis with a normal CRP.

HLA-B27 typing

Purpose: To help help distinguish spondylarthropathies from other types of arthritis.

What is it?
This genetic marker is present in the blood of 90% of people with a spondylarthropathy diagnosis and 5-8% of the general population.

Normal results:
The results are reported as positive or negative.

Notes:
A positive result does not indicate a certain diagnosis. A small amount of healthy people have this antigen present in their blood.