Comparative Evaluation of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate by the Test 1 Analyzer and Westergren method in Patients with Anemia

빈혈환자에서 자동 ESR 기기인 Test 1과 Westergren법의 비교

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) measurements were performed in a total of 191 blood samples from patients below a hematocrit of 35% by both the Test-1(SIRE Analytical Systems, Udine, Italy) and the Westergren method, endorsed as the reference method for ESR by the International Council for Standardization in Hematology(ICSH). The corrected Westergren ESR values were also obtained applying the formula of Fabry (corrected ESR = ESR measured x 15/55-Hct). Linear regression analysis showed a close correlation (r=0.85) between the two methods both before and after ESR correction in total samples. There was no significant correlation difference between two methods in both two groups with hemoglobin $${\geq_-}9g/dl$$ and <9g/dl before and after ESR correction (r=0.873, r=0.827 respectively before correction and r=0.867, r=0.830 respectively after correction). Also, for two groups with hematocrit $${\geq_-}24%$$ and <24%, no significant difference was observed (r=0.859, r=0.792 respectively before correction and r=0.782, r=0.842 respectively after correction). However, for samples with <60mm of Westergren ESR before correction, a better correlation coefficient was obtained than samples with $${\geq_-}60mm$$(r=0.701, r=0.541 respectively). In corrected Westergren ESR, also samples that were obtained with <40mm showed better correlation than samples with $${\geq_-}40mm$$ (r=0.690, r=0.347 respectively). In conclusion, we found a good correlation between Test-1 and Westergren measurements in patients with anemia but an expert group discussion is required to solve discrepancy between two methods in blood samples with very high ESR.