A general clinical blood test is a procedure prescribed by a doctor to diagnose a disease and to identify the dynamics of its development. The material obtained from the fence is examined to determine:
- the level of erythrocytes and leukocytes;
- sedimentation rate of erythrocytes.
Often patients, after learning the results of a general blood test, are asked: the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is increased - what does this mean?
What does the increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate mean?
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a diagnostic technique aimed at detecting the presence (absence) of the inflammatory process and its severity. In the body of a healthy person, each erythrocyte has a certain electrical charge, and this allows blood cells to repel from each other when moving and to penetrate without difficulty even into small capillaries. Changing the charge leads to the fact that the cells begin to collide and "stick together" with each other. Then in a laboratory vessel with blood taken for analysis, a precipitate is formed and an increased rate of erythrocyte sedimentation in the blood.
Normal ESR is considered in men 1-10 mm / h, and in women - 2-15 mm / h. When changing these indicators, it is more often ascertained that the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is increased, and the decrease in sedimentation rate is observed much less frequently.
Attention! After 60 years, the norm of ESR is 15-20 mm / h, as the aging of the body also changes the blood composition.
The rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is increased - the causes
Pathological causes
If the analysis of blood revealed that the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is increased, then, as a rule, it signals the development of the disease. The most common causes of increased ESR are:
- chronic or acute infectious processes caused by viruses, bacteria;
- helminthiases and intestinal parasitic diseases, for example, giardiasis ;
- diseases accompanied by inflammation (angina, otitis, bronchitis, cystitis, etc.);
- purulent formations (furuncles, erysipelas, phlegmon, etc.);
- autoimmune and allergic processes (rheumatism, atopic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus);
- malignant formations;
- pathology of the blood system (anemia, leukopenia, leukemia);
- intoxication;
- extensive injuries;
- kidney disease (pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, etc.);
- postinfarction period.
After the surgical intervention, a change in the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is also noted.
Important! The more serious pathological changes in the body, the more erythrocytes acquire abnormal properties, the higher, respectively, the reaction of erythrocyte sedimentation.
Physiological causes
But not always an increase in ESR is an indicator of illness. In some cases, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation in the blood is increased due to a change in physiology. The value of ESR is influenced by:
- pregnancy and lactation in women;
- reception of hormonal contraceptives;
- anemia;
- a significant degree of obesity ;
- reception of vitamin and some medications;
- recent vaccination;
- depletion on the basis of disease.
Often the increase in the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is associated with compliance with rigid diets or strict fasting.
In any case, only the results of the general clinical analysis of the blood for diagnosis are not enough. To determine what the deviation from the norm of the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation rate is, an additional comprehensive examination is recommended, recommended by the attending physician and treatment of the underlying disease under the supervision of a specialist. For a more detailed study, the parameter "width of distribution of erythrocytes in the blood" (SHRE) can be considered.