CRP and infection: Similarly, canonical pro-inflammatory markers such as WBC and CRP increased markedly with 72 h after cardiac surgery (p<0.001 for CRP, p<0.001 for WBC) (Fig. 2); in the postoperative distribution of PSP levels, there was a significant interaction between developing an infection and time, signifying a significantly steeper increase in PSP levels in patients developing infection as opposed to those exhibiting an uneventful course (p value for interaction = 0.02) (Fig. 3).