 At Deerwood Family Practice, we emphasize the importance of annual physicals and blood work. An important test within your lab results is called C-Reactive Protein or “CRP.” This value can be added to your labs and is an indicator of inflammation.
CRP is a protein produced by your liver, usually rising in periods of acute inflammation. However, it has both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. It clears foreign pathogens but can also exacerbate tissue damage by activating an inflammatory response in your body. There are many reasons behind elevated CRP levels, but most elevated levels are associated with infections or trauma. Other known causes include sleep issues or periodontal disease. In healthy adults, a normal level is less than 3mg/dL. Certain medications like NSAIDs or statins can falsely decrease CRP levels. High levels above 50mg/dL are most often due to infections. CRP has been recently used as a predictive factor in conditions like Hepatitis C, dengue and malaria, but these studies are still limited. Additionally, there is believed to be some correlation between elevated CRP and cardiovascular risk, but this research is still developing as well. At your follow-up lab review visit, your provider will be sure to highlight and discuss your CRP level with you. We look forward to seeing you and educating you about your health! Caitlin Vandermolen FNP student University of Southern California Class of 2025 Reference: Nehring SM, Goyal A, Patel BC. C Reactive Protein. [Updated 2023 Jul 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441843/
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 A wellness visit focuses on preventative care.
At this visit we discuss how to improve your overall health and watch for warning signs that something may change in your health. We don’t want to wait for you to develop a chronic disease, we want to stop it before it happens! Think of this visit as a “status update” with your provider to evaluate for any health changes in the past year. We collect your vital signs, check on your medications, ask about recent surgeries or specialist you may have seen, and assess what screenings are appropriate for your age and gender. Some screenings we may discuss include cholesterol and diabetes screenings, blood pressure evaluation, mammograms, Pap tests, PSAs, colonoscopies, osteoporosis or even STI/STD testing. Your family medical history is just as important as your own personal medical history. We want to look out for early warning signs to keep you at your best health! Vaccines and immunizations status is also important for all patients. A full body exam is also performed along with an EKG or Max Pulse depending on your age and personal medical history. Specific issues that you may have not related to the Wellness visit are considered part of the follow up. These additional concerns are considered a “sick visit” by insurance companies and may require a copay if they are addressed at the same time. Please let your provider know if you have additional concerns at your Wellness visit and depending on their complexity, they may have to be addressed at your lab review visit. |
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