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Results
By Mayo Clinic staffResults from your sed rate test will be reported in the distance in millimeters (mm) red blood cells have descended in one hour (hr). The normal range is 0-22 mm/hr for men and 0-29 mm/hr for women. The upper threshold for a normal sed rate value may vary somewhat from one medical practice to another.
The results of your sed rate test are one piece of information to help your doctor assess your health. Talk to your doctor about what your sed rate results mean in light of the symptoms you're experiencing and the results of other diagnostic tests.
Accuracy of test results
A number of conditions can affect the properties of blood, thereby affecting how quickly red blood cells sink in a sample of blood. Therefore, information about inflammatory disease — what your doctor intends to learn from the sed rate test — may be obscured by the influence of other conditions. These complicating factors include:
- Pregnancy
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Anemia
Your doctor will take into account possible complicating factors when interpreting the results of your sed rate test.
- Vajpayee N, et al. Hematology principles and procedures: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate. In: McPherson RA, et al. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 21st ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders Co.; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/216253686-3/1043810485/1393/191.html#4-u1.0-B1-4160-0287-1..50033-1--cesec81_1878. Accessed Aug. 25, 2010.
- Warner EA, et al. Common laboratory tests. In: Rakel RA. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/216253686-3/1043810485/1481/690.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50068-3--cesec27_4380. Accessed Aug. 25, 2010.
- ESR. Lab Tests Online. American Association for Clinical Chemistry. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/esr/multiprint.html. Accessed Aug. 25, 2010.
- Laboratory reference values. Sedimentation. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; August 2010.
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