CRP and systemic inflammatory response syndrome: We observed no difference in peak CRP value between sepsis and non-septic SIRS groups (270 (223 to 279) vs. 239 (237 to 270) mg/l; P = 0.37) and no difference in peak PCT value between sepsis and non-septic SIRS groups (8.4 (7.5 to 32.2) vs. 7.8 (1.9 to 17.5) ng/l; P = 0.67; Table 3).