What is the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) Test?
Inflammation is one of the body's normal immune responses to any injury or infection. It can be secondary to an immune disorder or a chronic disease. Under normal conditions, the red blood cells or the erythrocytes settle slowly at the bottom of a test tube that contains a blood sample. The Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR test) measures how rapidly the blood settles down in a test tube. It is a blood test that can reveal inflammatory activity in the body. It is also known as the SED rate, sedimentation rate, ESR, and Westergren sedimentation rate.
When is the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) Test done?
A doctor may recommend this test in the following.
What are the components of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) Test?
ESR Blood test can be done alone or as a part of a complete blood count. Conditions that cause inflammation are included in this test. RBCs, also known as erythrocytes, are used in an ESR test to gauge how rapidly they settle to the bottom of a test tube. Sedimentation, measured in millimeters per hour (mm/h), is the process by which these cells descend.
What is the usual range of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR Test?
The normal range is
Women: 0 to 29 mm/hr
Men: 0 to 22 mm/hr
A Low ESR rate indicates
A high ESR indicates
How is the ESR Blood Test done?
- To detect the cause of pain in the patients
- To detect the conditions causing inflammation like vasculitis, arthritis, or inflammatory bowel disease
- As a part of routine investigation
- In patients suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis
- In patients with cardiac or kidney disease
- To detect the cause of fever
- In autoimmune diseases.
- Cardiac disease
- Liver problem
- RBC disorders
- Kidney disease
- Anemia
- Kidney disease
- Cancer
- Tissue injury
- Arthritis
- Infections
- A blood sample is taken from the vein,
- No special test preparation is required for an ESR test.
- Before the test, the doctor must know about any drugs or supplements that one is taking
- The RBCs in the test tube are monitored for one hour to determine the ESR.
- The report comes within a few hours of the test.
- Some doctors recommend fasting before ESR blood test
- The test is not diagnostic but, of course, is an indication of underlying pathology which needs to be further evaluated