CRP and Sepsis: At the time of first assessment, hospitalized patients were more seriously ill, as indicated by worse laboratory parameters (CRP and WBC, p < 0.001 in both cases), higher severity scores (SOFA (p = 0.018), qSOFA (p = 0.002) and SAPS II (p < 0.001)) and a higher proportion of sepsis or septic shock (p < 0.001).