| Summary: | ABSTRACT
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is considered to be low in asymptomatic individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD); however their level during period of acute disease complications is not well studied. The aim of this study is to determine the value of ESR in children with SCD at steady state or during acute disease complications. ESR was assessed by Westergren method in 32 children with acute disease complications (the study group) and 64 children in steady state served as controls.
The mean ESR for all children was 28.9 mm/hr, (range 2-100), with higher levels in the study group than controls (49 ± 27 vs 20 ± 15 mm/hr, p < 0.001). Children with hepatic crises, acute chest syndrome, malaria infection and vaso-occlusive crises showed significant increase of ESR (all p?0.001), and those with acute respiratory infections had borderline significance (p=0.07). Anemic crises and hemoglobin levels showed no association with ESR (p>0.05). Plasma albumin was marginally higher in the study group and its overall concentrations were negatively correlated with ESR (r=+0.2, p=0.04). We conclude that elevated ESR in children with SCD is associated with acute disease complications and remains a simple and helpful test for laboratory evaluation of these children, particularly in resource restricted settings.
|
|---|
