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Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 63. No. 1, 2024.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2024.63.01.18

Elevated serum C-reactive protein levels in COVID-19 patients with sciatica: implications for prognosis and treatment strategies

Aleksandar Kostić ; Department of Neurosurgery, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia
Jovan Ilić ; Department of Neurosurgery, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia *
Nikola Stojanović ; Department of Neurosurgery, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia
Radmilo Janković ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia; Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia
Vesna Nikolov ; Department of Neurosurgery, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia
Slavko Živković ; Department of Neurosurgery, Niš University Clinical Center, Niš, Serbia

* Corresponding author.

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Abstract

To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has reported characteristics
of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in COVID-19 patients with comorbidities such as sciatica and
lumbar syndrome. Th e objective of this study was to examine whether CRP levels rose significantly
in COVID-19 patients with acute sciatica as compared to COVID-19 patients without it. This
prospective study was performed on 147 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 infection
who were admitted to the COVID hospital. Myalgia (p=0.00008) and lower back pain (p=0.00001)
occurred much more frequently in the study group than in the control group. There was a high
probability that patients with a previous history of sciatica may experience it again during their stay
in COVID-19 hospital and that patients without it would not (p=0.00001). There was a significant
correlation between the severity of sciatica and CRP levels (r=0.19, p=0.0174). Our results suggest
that serum CRP levels are significantly higher in COVID-19 patients with concomitant sciatica in
comparison to patients without sciatic pain, indicating a connection between the increased systemic
inflammation in COVID-19 and sciatica. Given that the occurrence of COVID-19 in patients with
sciatica is not rare, the knowledge about this matter is of high medical relevance.

Keywords

COVID-19; Sciatica; COVID-19 vaccines; C-reactive protein

Hrčak ID:

322484

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/322484

Publication date:

1.4.2024.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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