CRP and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The emphasis on crackles by clinicians is probably related to the increased frequency found in pneumonia.26 However, crackles are commonly heard in COPD,27 and especially during exacerbations, related to worsened bronchial obstruction.28 In the present study, while the link between crackles and antibiotic prescribing was independent of CRP result, a greater number of participants in the high CRP group (59.2%) experienced crackles than did those in the low CRP group (44.0%), indicative of a relationship between crackles and more seriously unwell participants.