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1 Child Research Council and the Department of Clinical Pathology, University
of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colo.
The failure to devise a satisfactory means of adjusting all sedimentation rates
to a standard cell volume, together with a critical analysis of the results of other
investigators, casts serious doubt on the validity of any such correction charts. Two formulae are presented by means of which the sedimentation rate of a
given sample of blood can be predicted on the basis of the plasma/cell ratio
and plasma proteins concentrations. One formula utilizes the results of saltingout analysis of plasma proteins, the other those of electrophoretic analysis of
serum proteins. The most influential factors in determininsg sedimentation rate
are plasma/cell ratio, fibrinogen, alpha-2 globulin, and gamma globulin. The
results suggest that the effective concentrations of the plasma proteins are most
adequately expressed as concentrations per unit of cell volume. Addition of purified protein fractions (fibrinogen, gamma globulin, and albumin) to the blood in vitro confirm the findings from the statistical studies
and suggest a direct cause and effect relationship between the concentration of
these proteins and the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation. Determination of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate cannot give, per se,
any clue as to the level of any one of the responsible factors. An appreciation of
the multiple factors involved is essential for an adequate interpretation of the
clinical significance of a sedimentation rate determination.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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| Copyright © 1953 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020 | |||||||||
