Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
(ESR)
Westergren sedimentation rate
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
Westergren sedimentation rate
• Is a type of blood test that measures how quickly
erythrocytes (red blood cells) settle at the
bottom of a test tube that contains a blood
sample.
• Normally, red blood cells settle relatively slowly.
A faster-than-normal rate may indicate
inflammation in the body.
If ESR is high, it may be related to an
inflammatory condition, such as:
•Infection
•Rheumatoid arthritis
•Rheumatic fever
•Vascular disease
•Inflammatory bowel disease
•Heart disease
•Kidney disease
•Certain cancers
Sometimes the ESR can be slower than
normal. A slow ESR may indicate a blood
disorder, such as:
•Polycythemia
•Sickle cell anemia
•Leukocytosis, an abnormal increase in white blood cells
Advantages
• More reliable and gives accurate result.
Disadvantages
• More blood is required
• Difficult to fill the blood in tube
• PCV cannot be done
• Mouth pipetting may be hazardous
Procedure
• 1.6 ml of blood is mixed with 0.4 ml of TSC or sodium citrate
(mix the blood thoroughly).
• Draw blood into the tube up to mark ‘0’ with the help of
rubber bulb.
• Wipe out blood from bottom of the tube.
• Transfer the tube to westergren stand and stand it vertically. •
Record the time and take reading.
ESR blood test normal range
The normal ESR values in mm/hr are listed below and classified
as per the age and gender.
• For men above 50 yrs the normal ESR value is below 20
• For men under 50 yrs the normal ESR value is below 15
• For women over 50 yrs the normal ESR value is below 30
• For women below 50 yrs the normal ESR value is below 20
• For newborns the normal ESR value ranges from 0 to 2
• For neonatal till puberty the normal ESR value ranges from 3
to 13