Test Code ESR Sedimentation (Sed) Rate, Blood, LAB322
Performing Laboratory
St. Luke's Hospital Cedar Rapids
Specimen Requirements
Container/Tube:
Preferred: 600 uL whole blood lavender-top
(EDTA) tube, venous collection or 500 uL whole blood pediatric BD
Microtainer MAP tube (see picture below).
Minimum Volume: 350 uL in EDTA whole
blood MAP tube
Stability: 4 hours at room temperature or 24 hours at 2-8oC. Clotted specimens are unacceptable.
Reference Values
Age |
Male |
Female |
<1 month |
0 – 2 mm/hr |
0 – 2 mm/hr |
1 month – <19 yrs |
0 – 13 mm/hr |
0 – 13 mm/hr |
19 yrs – <50 yrs |
0 – 15 mm/hr |
0 – 20 mm/hr |
≥50 years |
0 – 20 mm/hr |
0 – 30 mm/hr |
Day(s) Test Set Up
Monday through Sunday
Useful For
The ESR is used as a nonspecific indicator of infections, inflammatory states, autoimmune disorders and plasma cell dyscrasias. Although it will denote the presence of disease, it does not indicate the severity.
Methodology
The iSED® analyzer uses quantitative capillary photometry (aggregation) to directly measure erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).
Test Classification and CPT Coding
85651
Analytical Time
Within 1 hour of receipt