Objective: The study examines the prognostic impact of C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) counts in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS).
Background: Data regarding inflammatory biomarkers in CS is limited. 
Methods: Consecutive patients with cardiogenic shock from 2019 to 2021 were included monocentrically. Blood samples were retrieved from the day of admission (i.e., day 1), days 2, 3, 4 and 8. Aim of the registry was to test the prognostic performance of CRP and WBC with regard to the 30-day all-cause mortality. Statistical analyses included univariable t-tests, Spearman´s correlations, C-statistics and Kaplan-Meier analyses.
Results: From a total of 240 consecutive patients admitted with CS, 55% died within 30 days after admission. CRP levels on day 3 to 8 showed reliable discrimination for 30-day all-cause mortality (area under the curve (AUC) 0.623-0.754), whereas CRP on day 1 was not associated with prognosis (AUC = 0.514).  In line, CRP > 100mg/L on day 3 (56% vs. 37%; log rank p = 0.023; HR = 1.702; 95% CI 1.060 – 2.735; p = 0.028) and especially a CRP increase of at least 200% from day 1 to day 3 (51% vs 35%; log rank p = 0.040; HR = 1.720; 95% CI 1.006 – 2.943; p = 0.048) were associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality. Furthermore, WBC on day 1 was a reliable predictor for 30-day all-cause mortality in CS patients (AUC = 0.605) with increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with WBC > 10 x 10⁶/mL (59% vs. 40%; log rank p = 0.036; HR = 1.643; 95% CI 1.010 – 2.671; p = 0.045). 
Conclusion: WBC on day 1 and CRP levels on day 3 and thereafter were associated with prognosis in CS.