Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17639424›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of colorectal disease2007

C-reactive protein as early predictor for infectious postoperative complications in rectal surgery.

T Welsch, S A Müller, A Ulrich, A Kischlat, U Hinz, P Kienle, M W Büchler, J Schmidt, B M Schmied

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in International journal of colorectal disease, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
90citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

90 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 206 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Meta-analysis of the Diagnostic Accuracy of C-Reactive Protein for Infectious Complications in Laparoscopic Versus Open Colorectal Surgery.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2020
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  9. The Effects of Drinking Coffee While Recovering from Colon and Rectal Resection Surgery.Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) · 2015
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  15. C-reactive protein and digestive pathologies: A narrative review for daily clinical use.Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2025
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30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

T WelschDepartment of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
S A Müller
A Ulrich
A Kischlat
U Hinz
P Kienle
M W Büchler
J Schmidt
B M Schmied
Heidelberg University · DEHeidelberg University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study evaluated the role of the acute phase C-reactive protein (CRP) in the postoperative course of a large series of rectal resections on the basis of a prospective database. Main focus of this study was the early identification of complications. MATERIALS AND

methodsThree hundred eighty-three rectal resections with primary anastomosis for rectal cancer were screened for infectious postoperative complications. Forty-eight complicated cases were identified and matched with 48 patients with an uneventful postoperative course.

resultsIn the postoperative setting, CRP peaked on postoperative day (POD) 2 with a median serum CRP of 140 mg/l and gradually declined thereafter in uncomplicated cases. In complicated cases, CRP elevation generally persisted after POD 2, whereas white blood cells and body temperature were within normal range in the early postoperative period. A cutoff CRP value of 140 mg/dl on PODs 3 and 4 resulted in predictive values of 85.7 and 90.5% (adjusted to the prevalence: 37.6 and 50.3%), sensitivities of 80.0 and 54.3%, and specificities of 81.0 and 92.3% for a complicated postoperative course (P<0.001), respectively.

conclusionPersistent CRP elevation and elevation of serum CRP above 140 mg/dl on PODs 3-4 are predictive of infectious postoperative complications and should prompt intense clinical search for an inflammatory process, especially for an anastomotic leak if pneumonia and wound infection are unlikely or excluded.

Indexed as

AgedAnastomosis, SurgicalBiomarkersBody TemperatureC-Reactive ProteinFemaleHumansLeukocyte CountMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsRectal NeoplasmsRectumRetrospective StudiesSensitivity and SpecificitySurgical Wound InfectionBiomarkersC-Reactive Protein

Identifiers

PMID17639424
OpenAlexW1993916542

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.