Kinetic Measurement of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate

Abstract

A method for estimation of the erythrocyte sedimentation from repeated measurements during the initial part of the sedimentation phase is described. Based on the measurements between 18 and 24 minutes after the beginning of the reaction, the sedimentation at 60 minutes is estimated. The estimate is highly correlated to the measured ESR in the range which the conventional ESR permits (up to about 90 mm). Higher ESR will be estimated from the kinetic data and thus give reproducible and meaningful results of samples which will be reported as “falsely low” by conventional methods. Sedimentations of several hundred mm can thus be estimated suggesting a new use for the ESR, particularly in monitoring patients with severe inflammatory reactions.