In terms of blood tests, SED rate measures the rate at which red blood cells sediment in an hour. SED rate is an abbreviation for 'erythrocyte sedimentation rate'. The purpose of SED rate test is to determine whether a person is experiencing inflammation somewhere in their body. In this sense, SED test is fairly non-specific. Having a high SED rate could be for a high variety of reasons, ranging from a minor infection to a more serious autoimmune disease.
To perform the SED rate test, anti-coagulated blood is placed in an upright tube called a 'Westergren tube'. Then the rate at which the red blood cells fall through the tube is measured in mm/h.
CRP is short for 'C-reactive protein'. It is a protein that is found in the blood. Its levels tend to rise in response to inflammation. When acute inflammation such as infection occurs, CRP level can rise by up to 50,000 times. Diagnostically, CRP is a common measure for inflammation. Apart from liver failure, there are few known factors that can interfere with the human body's ability to produce CRP. Measuring and tracking CRP levels over time can often prove itself to be useful as a way of determining disease progress or how effective a certain kind of treatment is.
Although it is normally satisfactory to undergo either a CRP test or an SED test because the purpose and results of the two tests are often similar, there are certain occasions where the two tests will not produce equivalent results. A prominent example of this is acute maxillary sinusitis, where the results of the two tests were deemed to be independently associated.
To perform the SED rate test, anti-coagulated blood is placed in an upright tube called a 'Westergren tube'. Then the rate at which the red blood cells fall through the tube is measured in mm/h.
CRP is short for 'C-reactive protein'. It is a protein that is found in the blood. Its levels tend to rise in response to inflammation. When acute inflammation such as infection occurs, CRP level can rise by up to 50,000 times. Diagnostically, CRP is a common measure for inflammation. Apart from liver failure, there are few known factors that can interfere with the human body's ability to produce CRP. Measuring and tracking CRP levels over time can often prove itself to be useful as a way of determining disease progress or how effective a certain kind of treatment is.
Although it is normally satisfactory to undergo either a CRP test or an SED test because the purpose and results of the two tests are often similar, there are certain occasions where the two tests will not produce equivalent results. A prominent example of this is acute maxillary sinusitis, where the results of the two tests were deemed to be independently associated.
