Evaluation of micro-ESR method with Westergren method for determination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate

Abstract

Background: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) test provides valuable information in screening, diagnosis, as well as monitoring disease activity and therapeutic response in numerous health conditions. The most commonly used method for determination of ESR is Westergren method, which is time-consuming and requires a large amount of blood sample. There are several other methods, like Micro-ESR method which overcome the limitations of conventional Westergren method, hence the present study was performed to compare results of Westergren method with Micro-ESR method for determination of ESR.Methods: In the present study, blood samples from 100 patients were processed for ESR determination by Westergren method and Micro-ESR method. The results obtained were compared using Pearson’s correlation test.Results: The Westergren method was the reference method and the Micro-ESR method was testing method. The comparison was done between Micro- ESR method results (X-axis) and results of Westergren method (Y-axis). The slope of the regression line using linear regression was 1.010 with a y-intercept of -0.788. Statistical analysis demonstrated significant correlation of results of Micro-ESR method with Westergren method (r = 0.9977).Conclusions: Micro-ESR is a reliable and precise method for ESR measurement. The Micro- ESR method is simple to perform and requires very small volume of blood (0.2ml) as compared to conventional Westergren method. It can be potential useful tool in performing ESR determination especially for the patients with limitation of blood availability as pediatric patients and very old patients.

Prevalence and determinants of anemia among women of reproductive age in Thatta Pakistan: Findings from a cross-sectional study

“…The trained laboratory staff and microbiologist processed the blood samples to measure complete blood count (CBC), serum iron and ferritin levels, serum B-12 and folic acid levels. In addition, they used the blood samples to measure the inflammatory markers including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) by the Westergren method, and C-Reactive protein (CRP) using a high sensitivity ELISA assay [ 23 , 24 ]. Moreover, they used an immunochromatographic test (ICT) technique to identify the malarial parasite in the blood and examined blood for hemoglobinopathies including thalassemia minor and major by hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis test [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hemoglobin-binding protein in free-living box turtles (Terrapene spp.)

“…This method is cost-effective, readily available, and requires < 0.1mL of blood, making it attractive for application to small wildlife species. Furthermore, microhematocrit tube measurements have proven to correlate well with gold standard ESR methodologies in people [53][54][55]. The microhematocrit tube was filled approximately ¾ full, plugged with clay at one end, and positioned upright in a leveled stand (Critoseal Identi-Tray, Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany).…”

“…Fourth, to investigate the association between ESR, HBP, and health status. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that there would be good agreement between the three ESR measurement methods [53][54][55], ESR would be negatively associated with packed cell volume (PCV) [45,46], and both ESR and HBP would elevate in adults [10,23,49,[56][57][58][59], females [23,[59][60][61][62][63][64], and turtles with clinical signs of illness or injury [15,48,[65][66][67].…”

Red blood cell sedimentation rate measurements in a high aspect ratio microchannel

“…The short characteristic length ( 2 mm) of the used microchannel is expected to produce a lower ESR compared to the commercial ESR analyser which uses tubes with length of 120 mm and a diameter of 8 mm. Indeed, this scale effect has been observed in many micro-ESR studies that use capillary tubes with smaller dimensions than the conventional tubes used in commercial instruments [3,14,23,24].…”

“…A glass capillary tube, 75 mm long with 1.2 mm internal diameter, has been systematically studied and showed a good correlation with the Westergren method. The protocol requires mixing the whole blood sample (4 drops of blood) with anticoagulant on a glass slide; then the sample enters the attached tube, due to capillary forces, and the measurement occurs within 20 min [14,23]. Similar studies have correlated a variety of alternative pipette volumes as a tool for micro-ESR measurement against the standard Westergren pipette [3,24].…”