MICROSED-SYSTEM

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is an easy, inexpensive, non-specific test that has been used for many years to help diagnose conditions associated with acute and chronic inflammations, including infection, cancer and autoimmune disease. ESR is a marker of erythrocyte aggregation influenced by blood proteins such as fibrinogen and immunoglobulins in a state of inflammation. Normally, the electrostatic forces between RBCs make them repel each other and inhibit their aggregation. An increased amount of plasma fibrinogen or globulins coat the RBCs, foster their aggregation, and hasten settling, consequently elevating the ESR. Large-molecular-weight fibrinogen has the greatest effect followed by ?-globulins and distantly by ?2-globulins, ?-globulins and albumin.

The Westergren method is the recommended test procedure and also the most discriminating at high and low values. It measures the vertical fall (by gravity) of the top of the blood cell column of thoroughly mixed, anticoagulated venous blood over a 1-hour period. MICROSED-SYSTEM