What is sedimentation? What is Sedimentation Height?

Sedimentation refers to the sinking rate of erythrocytes, which are red blood cells in the blood sample taken from the person and in the tube. Red blood cells tend to collapse more rapidly in various diseases that typically follow an inflammatory course.

What is Sedimentation Test?

In addition to clinical findings such as pain, fever, regional redness, edema and tenderness after inflammation occurs in any part of the body, it is used to define this condition. Various laboratory parameters are also available. The blood test called erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is not specific to any health problem, but when interpreted together with various other parameters, it can be useful in detecting or following inflammation in the body.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), known as blood sedimentation test, is frequently It is a hematological test used in autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases or tumors, and it is an important marker that can increase in conditions such as inflammatory activity in the body. With the sedimentation test, a general inflammation in the body can be detected and an idea about its degree can be obtained. However, this examination is not helpful in revealing the main factor in the occurrence of this situation, so the sedimentation test is a parameter that is rarely used alone.
If you have symptoms of various diseases such as arthritis (joint inflammation) or inflammatory bowel diseases after the application of health institutions, a sedimentation examination can be applied by physicians.
There are many accepted signs and symptoms of inflammation:

• Stiffness or pain in the joints lasting longer than half an hour in the morning
• Headache accompanying shoulder pain
• Abnormal weight loss
• Pain in the shoulder, neck and groin area
• Digestive system complaints such as diarrhea, blood in the stool or abdominal pain that is different from normal

In individuals, a small blood sample is taken for sedimentation examination. In this process, which takes about 1-2 minutes, the area of ​​​​the vein to be operated is cleaned, then this vein is entered with a needle. Following the blood sample collection, a pam It is ensured that the bleeding is stopped by applying pressure to the intervention area together with a uk or a similar substance. After this process, the blood sample taken is sent to the laboratory and placed in a long thin tube and observed at room temperature for 60 minutes. During this one-hour observation, medical staff in the laboratory determine the rate at which red blood cells settle and how much of it sinks.

What is Height of Sedimentation?

The increase in inflammatory activity during infectious disease, autoimmune diseases where the immune system produces antibodies against its own tissues and cells, or diseases such as cancer results in an increase in the level of various proteins in the blood. This increase in protein causes red blood cells to clump together and tend to collapse at a faster rate. The image formed as a result of the red blood cells coming together and collapsing in this way is called the "roll formation". The red blood cells in the roll formation form a denser mass than the discrete cells and therefore they move faster towards the lower parts of the tube.

What Should Sedimentation Be?

These limit values, determined as the hourly precipitation in millimeters in response to the question of what the sedimentation value should be, are as follows:

• For women under 50 years old, 0- 20 mm/hr
• 0-15 mm/hr for men under 50 years old
• 0-30 mm/hr for women over 50 years old
• Above 50 years old 0-20 mm/hour for men
• The normal value of sedimentation in the childhood age group is 0-10 mm/hour

Low sedimentation is generally considered normal. However, care should be taken as a low level in this parameter may indicate conditions such as sickle cell anemia, congestive heart failure or fibrinogen deficiency. High detected values ​​alone do not have a diagnostic value for any disease. does not have. At the same time, in the presence of certain situations, various problems may occur regarding the significance and reliability of test results. Advanced age, use of various drugs, pregnancy, anemia, kidney problems and thyroid diseases are among the conditions that may affect the results of the sedimentation test. A longer period of time may cause the shape of the red blood cells to become spherical, which may facilitate the formation of roll formation and cause the results to be higher than normal.

Why Is Sedimentation Increased?

Under normal conditions, the outer part of red blood cells is electrically negatively charged and cannot come together by applying a repulsive force to each other. The increased amount of protein in the blood circulation due to various diseases neutralizes the electrical forces on the outside of these cells and facilitates their coming together and may cause increased sedimentation. it could be. It is important to exclude cancerous tumoral formations, especially in people who do not have other signs and symptoms of inflammation in any part of the body despite high sedimentation values.
Diseases in which immune system cells produce antibodies against their own cells for various reasons and cause damage to these structures are defined as autoimmune diseases. There are many autoimmune diseases that can cause higher than normal sedimentation results:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Waldenström macroglobulinemia
• In the temples Temporal arteritis
• Polymyalgia rheumatica with muscle and joint pains
vasculitis

In addition to cancer and autoimmune diseases, various infectious diseases Among the causes of high sedimentation rate are:

• Bone infections
• Heart infections such as myocarditis in which the heart muscle is affected, pericarditis in which the outer tissue of the heart is affected, or endocarditis in which the inner layer and valves are affected
• Rheumatic fever following bacterial infections
• Skin infections
• Systemic infections
• Tuberculosis

Sedimentation value of 100 millimeters per hour in some severe diseases can go over it. Multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of plasma cells, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a rare cancer of white blood cells, temporal arteritis and polymyalgia are among the diseases in which the ESR test value can be detected above 100 mm/hour.

How to Reduce Sedimentation?

People with abnormal sedimentation values ​​may not always have an underlying health problem, so there is no need for sedimentation elevation treatment in these people. Depending on the results obtained, physicians may apply for further tests or repeat the test in order to clarify the underlying condition.
After the physicians detect the health problem that may be associated with the high sedimentation value, treatment planning is made for this reason and the sedimentation value can be regressed to normal limits. In cases of inflammation due to autoimmune diseases, physicians can control the existing inflammation with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroid treatments, while high sedimentation due to bacterial infectious disease can be reduced with antibiotic treatment.
Although the sedimentation values ​​outside the normal limits are not considered an overly alarming result, care should be taken due to various health problems that they may indicate. If you detect signs and symptoms of inflammation or infection in your body, it is recommended to seek support from specialist physicians by applying to health institutions. You can use the contact form on our website to reach us. trace.

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