Specimen Collection

1.5 mL Adult EDTA Blood

1.5 mL Paediatric 3xEDTA Blood

Specimen Suitability:

Room temperature: Less than 6-hours

Refrigerated (4c): Less than 12-hours

Reference Intervals
Units: mm in 1 Hour

Age Range	Male	Female
< 20 y	1 - 10[1, 2]	1 - 10[1]
21 y - 50 y	1 - 20	1 - 25
51 y - 65 y	1 - 25	1 - 30
>= 66 y	1 - 25	1 - 40

[1]

• The upper limit increases with age; males and females over 70 may have an ESR of over 20 mm in 1 hour without evidence of disease.
• The ESR increases in pregnancy after the first trimester

[2]

ESR UOM

< 20 mm/hr	+/ - 5mm / hr
> 20 mm/hr	20%

Turnaround Time: Within 2 hours
Diagnostic Use and Interpretation

The ESR has a longstanding use in clinical medicine but has significant limitations in terms of measurement accuracy. It is also affected by numerous physiological variables and by factors other than inflammation, such as haemoglobin and plasma protein levels. For these reasons and as CRP has become the test of choice for acute inflammation, currently ESR has a more limited utility.

The ESR may have some advantages in the assessment of the following conditions:

SLE

Rheumatoid arthritis

Kawasaki Disease

Rheumatic fever

Vasculitis

Prosthetic Joint Infection

Hodgkin lymphoma

Temporal (giant) arteritis

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Connective Tissue disorder

Paediatric Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and Ulcerative colitis)

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Paediatric bone and joint infections

The ESR should not be used to screen for plasma cell dyscrasias; if these conditions are suspected, protein electrophoresis and/or serum free light chains should be used.

The ESR should not be used to screen for inflammatory/infective disorders; CRP is the test of choice.

It is seldom appropriate for both an ESR and CRP to be performed on the same sample.

ESRs will only be processed when relevant clinical details are legibly written on the request form and requests meet the testing criteria (refer to the list above).

Links:

CRP

Contact Information

For further information contact the Haematology laboratory (Ext 22067) or:

Dr Anna Ruskova	Ext 22137
Dr Nikhil Rabade	Ext 22071
Dr Nicola Eaddy	Ext 22005
Dr Peter Bradbeer	Ext 22062

Last updated at 13:10:49 11/09/2024