A Review of the Value of Creatine Phosphokinase Estimations in Clinical Medicine

The biochemistry of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and the factors which influence its level in human serum are reviewed. For the clinician, most use for this biochemical estimation will be found in the care of patients with myocardial infarction and muscle diseases, but grossly abnormal values may be found in hypothyroidism, cerebrovascular accidents, alcoholism, acute psychoses, and occasionally in many other conditions. In interpreting the result for a particular patient, special consideration must be given to the ease of venepuncture, problems in estimation, the effect of exercise, physical agents, drugs, injections, and the timing of sample collection.