Norm of ESR in the blood for children of different ages: standard values ​​and interpretation. Why can a child's ESR be higher or lower than normal? 7 months baby soy 12 what does it mean

All babies have to take a blood test, but not every mother can understand their result. Everything is not so complicated, first of all, you need to figure out what is the norm of ESR in the blood in children and because of what sometimes there are deviations from these values. Why is this indicator so important? It responds to any changes in the body, reacts to the composition of the blood, its viscosity and ability to easily flow through the vessels. The baby is still active and cheerful, but if the disease is already in its infancy, the numbers on the laboratory test form will warn you that something is not right in the body. This means that timely measures taken will save the baby from pneumonia and other dangerous complications.

What is ESR and what indicators correspond to the norm?

What is this indicator? By the sound, you might think that we are talking about soy, which is constantly mentioned when the topic of genetically modified products is touched upon. There is no need to re-read the composition of baby food in excitement and revise the diet of a nursing mother; soy has nothing to do with blood test indicators. This abbreviation stands for "Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate". In healthy people, it usually does not exceed 16 mm / h, but 17, 18 or 20 may indicate not a disease, but not an improper diet or stress.

Outside the body, red blood cells begin to stick together and fall down. An hour later, a dark thick bottom and an almost colorless liquid on top are visible in a glass test tube. The height of the transparent column is recorded in the analysis form. It can turn out to be quite small, and reach 10, 12, 23, 40 and even 100 mm. A lot of things affect the erythrocyte sedimentation rate: the acidity and viscosity of the blood, its composition and the state of the components. This indicator is therefore considered important, which reflects any pathology that has arisen in the body. In a weak baby, a common cold can lead to a dangerous complication - pneumonia. The laboratory assistant takes blood from the baby, and the ESR, as the most sensitive indicator, will show whether there are reasons for excitement or the illness will pass without dangerous consequences.

The norm of ESR in children changes with age. In various sources, you can find different limit values, this is especially true for infants up to a year.

Roughly, you can use the following values:

• immediately after birth - 2-4 mm / hour;
• babies up to a year - 3-10 mm / hour;
• from a year to 5 years - 5-12 mm / hour;
• from 6 to 14 years old - 4-12 mm / hour;
• teenage girls after 14 years - 2-15 mm / hour;
• teenage boys after 14 years - 1-10 mm / hour.

Of course, children are individual, some even at 13 have an organism like a 16 or 17-year-old, and sometimes at 23 - like a young man at 17. If the indicator does not reach 10, then everything is normal; the numbers 12 or 13 should not cause concern, and 20, 23, 25, and even more so 40 is already a cause for alarm. A child of 10 years old - do not worry if the ESR is not 12, but 13, one millimeter in this case does not change anything. Boys mature more slowly than girls, so don't be surprised if a 16-year-old boy has all the characteristics of a 13-year-old.

See how appropriate the analysis is for your child's age, and if they are over 14 years old, consider their gender as well. It's okay if the deviation is less than 10 at a rate of 16, 17, 18 or 20 mm / h, the cause may be a slight cold, which will pass in a few days. But if at a rate of 15 in your analysis it turned out 40, then you need to find out why the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is too high. Remember a simple rule: the stronger the deviation from the norm, the more serious the disease and the longer the treatment will last. We saw a value of 35 or higher - the disease can last for more than a month. The baby recovered, but the child's ESR is still 25? Do not worry, after the illness, it may take several months for the tests to return to normal. Soon you will see the number 23, then 18, and then the indicator will reach the desired value.

At high rates, be sure to ask what method the analysis was performed on. With an indicator of 20 and below, the difference in the analyzes performed according to the methods of Panchenkov and Westergen will be no more than 2 mm / h, which means that it can be neglected. When the disease is severe and the ESR reaches 40, the results can vary by 10 mm/hour, and at very high rates exceed 35 mm/hour. Compare some values, the first digit means the result according to Westergen, and the second - according to Panchenkov:

• 10 – 10,
• 17 – 16,
• 20 – 18,
• 23 – 20,
• 35 – 30,
• 50 – 40.

Why is ESR rising?

Do not fall into despair if you see a high ESR in the blood of a child. Before talking with your doctor, review your diet or formula-fed baby food. Fatty foods and vitamin deficiencies can affect the baby's blood. The reason for this may also be taking certain medications, or the child is simply teething. With an indicator of 13, there is no reason for alarm at all, 16, 17 or 18 can make you think. In older children, the wrong menu may also be the cause. Obesity, excessive intake of vitamin A, excess cholesterol can provoke poor performance. Remember if the baby had injuries: if a bone fracture or severe bleeding has recently occurred, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate will be higher than normal. Of course, such reasons will not bring the indicator to 40, but 16, 18 or 20 can be seen.

High ESR - 20, 23, 25 mm / h - most often signals inflammation or an infectious disease: pneumonia, rubella, measles. The result may indicate anemia, a change in the number of red blood cells in the blood, or an allergy. If the indicator is above 40, you need to examine the child for more dangerous diseases: oncology, tuberculosis, lupus erythematosus. Based on other indicators, the doctor determines if there are any diseases of the blood, kidneys or liver.

When there is no pneumonia or other inflammation, and the indicators do not return to normal in any way, they stay at the level of 23.25 mm / h, the doctor prescribes a more detailed blood test, a stool test to make sure that there are no worms. In some cases, the pediatrician recommends a consultation with an endocrinologist. ESR above normal occurs with thyrotoxicosis and diabetes. The indicator also rises with some poisoning or severe stress. And when your child reaches the age of 17, 18 or 20 years, the wrong lifestyle may be to blame.

Blood test may help prevent complications of pneumonia

Pneumonia has several varieties, a blood test along with other examinations will help the doctor understand the cause of the disease, the size of the lesion and the speed of the process. If the disease is detected, and the indicators are normal, they are 13 mm / hour, there is no reason to rejoice. ESR during inflammation does not increase if the immune system is weakened and the body does not fight the disease. Too high a reaction rate - more than 35 - indicates a serious course of the disease.

The disease is very dangerous. The sooner the disease is detected and treatment is started, the better the prognosis for recovery. The baby has just been born, and they are already taking blood from his finger. Do not be angry that the doctors hurt the baby, they care about his health. It happens that pneumonia is detected in children immediately after birth. The fetus can get sick even in the mother's abdomen if it gets an infection through the amniotic fluid.

When pneumonia has begun, a blood test can indicate the extent of the lesion. With a focal disease, the alveoli and bronchi are damaged, and with a croupous form, the entire lobe of the lung is affected. In the first case, the increase in ESR is not very large, it may even turn out to be 16 or 18, but more often 23.25 mm / h, if the process has affected all tissues, the ESR may be higher than 40. Low results may also indicate that the disease is hidden, turned into a chronic form.

Reasons for lowering the ESR

A low erythrocyte sedimentation rate may indicate parental error. Some mothers do not give newborns to drink, they believe that there is enough liquid in breast milk. In this case, the indicator below the norm occurs due to dehydration, which can also lead to vomiting and diarrhea. Of the diseases, such results are with hepatitis, heart and blood diseases, epilepsy.

Eat right and do not deprive the family of the necessary products. With a complete rejection of animal food, the indicator may be below the norm.

Not always the slow sedimentation of erythrocytes is caused by a disease, sometimes treatment leads to such results. Aspirin, calcium chloride and some other drugs affect the composition and reaction of the blood. Remember everything that the baby ate, where he could climb. Indicators below the norm are in case of poisoning, check if the child has looked into the first-aid kit.

How to treat high ESR?

A reduced or increased ESR in a child is not a disease, but a signal that some undesirable processes may occur in the body. The baby is healthy, but the analysis goes beyond the norm? Do not be complacent, you may have received a warning about a hidden disease. Carry out all the examinations that the doctor prescribes in order to notice the onset of pneumonia or other illness in time.

If in doubt about the results of the analysis, re-examine the blood in another laboratory. The result may be unreliable if the medical institution does not properly store blood taken from a finger.

No need to try to influence the indicators, it will not give anything good for health. Think about what is more important for you: cure the baby of pneumonia or calm yourself with good numbers on the form? Eliminate the underlying disease and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate will begin to decline. After 15 days, you can repeat the analysis and see how the results change. If from 25 they drop to 17 mm / hour, recovery is normal, if not, listen to the advice of a pediatrician. Perhaps he will prescribe other examinations, go through everything that he recommends in order to accurately establish the disease and prescribe treatment.

Do not try to reduce the ESR in children with all sorts of tricks in order to pass a medical examination. Even if an inattentive doctor does not notice your deceit, the disease will not go anywhere. Is a sports section or a trip to a resort more important than your baby's health? When an adult person of 35 or 40 years old in this way gets a job that is contraindicated for him, then he himself will pay for the consequences, and you have no right to put a small child at risk.

This indicator is very sensitive, which means that it reacts to many factors. If the child has recently undergone physiotherapy or x-rays, the analysis may be unreliable. Stress and prolonged crying of the baby can also affect the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. If you do not follow these rules, do not be surprised to see the numbers 17, 18, 23 or 25 on the form, but repeat the analysis at a more favorable time.

Before going to the clinic, you can not feed the child tightly. Do your best to keep him in a good mood, entertain him with your favorite game, give him a new toy in line at the laboratory, or tell an interesting story.

You have already understood that soy has nothing to do with blood tests, and it is useless to eat it in large quantities or exclude it from the diet. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate, of course, depends on the diet, but the state of the body has the main influence on it, which means that this analysis can become a reliable adviser to the mother. If the ESR is 16, 17.18 or 20 mm, you should not be particularly worried, but at 23, 25 and above, you need to be wary. We noticed the result is much higher or lower than the norm - so you need to look for the cause. If you do not miss the very beginning of pneumonia, the treatment will be easier and without complications. Most importantly, contact the pediatrician you fully trust, then your baby will be safe.

The norm of ESR in children (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is an indicator of a general blood test, reflecting the state of health. In the presence of an inflammatory process in the body, the ESR increases.

What does SOE mean

One of the important indicators of the general blood test is the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) within one hour. Previously, it was called ROE (erythrocyte sedimentation reaction). In foreign literature, it is designated as Complete Blood Count (CBC), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), Westergren ESR.

Methods of determination

The main methods of determination are: the method of Westergren (Westergren) and Panchenkov. The interpretation of the results of analyzes obtained using any of these methods is correct. The Westergren method is approved by the International Committee for the Standardization of Blood Research.

Before determining this indicator, an anticoagulant (sodium citrate), a substance that prevents blood clotting, is added to the venous blood. Blood remains liquid, representing blood plasma in which blood cells float: erythrocytes, and.

The blood is left for an hour, and after this time the height of the transparent layer is measured, i.e. plasma, which is located above the settled blood cells. This value in mm / h is the ESR. Currently, in many medical institutions, automatic devices are used to determine the indicator.

How the analysis is done

ESR blood test, and its norm in children depends on the age and state of their health. It reflects the balance between factors that increase erythrocyte sedimentation (eg, fibrinogen) and negatively charged erythrocytes. With an increase in plasma fibrinogen, immunoglobulins and other proteins, erythrocytes aggregate with the formation of complexes, the sedimentation of which is accelerated under the influence of gravity.

A change in the ESR value can be observed already before the onset of symptoms of the disease, or in the absence of any disease, since it is very sensitive to many changes in the body.

The analysis is not carried out after physiotherapeutic procedures, x-rays, prolonged crying of the child and a hearty breakfast. It is carried out in the morning on an empty stomach, while the child should be calm.

ESR in the blood in children

Table - Normal ESR in children

In newborns, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is low, because their metabolism is still lower. ESR in the blood in children under one year old increases, as it depends on the activation of metabolic processes in the child's body. The peak of the indicator is observed from 27 to 32 days after birth, then its decrease is observed.

In adolescents, this analysis may depend not only on age, but also on gender. For example, in boys of 14 years old, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate can be 2-11 mm / hour, and in girls of the same age - 2-14 mm / hour. However, these differences are not significant.

In children, an increased ESR value may be the result of:

• hypovitaminosis;
• stress (prolonged crying);
• taking medication (paracetamol);
• elevated ESR syndrome.

With the syndrome of elevated ESR, it is necessary to do a blood test several times during the year to determine this indicator. If the child has no symptoms of the disease, he feels well, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate remains elevated, then the pediatrician may recommend, in addition, to do an analysis for C-reactive protein.

Increased value

High ESR in a child can be provoked by the following reasons.

• Hyperproteinemia. So called the increased content of total protein in the blood. In the initial period of the disease, which is often called the "acute phase", the protein composition of the blood plasma begins to change. An illness is always a stress for a child’s body, therefore, the content of C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, cryoglobulin, gamma globulins, etc. increases. This leads to an increase in blood viscosity, therefore, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation slows down, and ESR increases.
• immature erythrocytes. Another reason may be the appearance of immature forms of red blood cells. Usually, the indicator already rises 24-30 hours after the onset of the disease, which is characterized by the presence of a focus of inflammation. Prolonged inflammation increases the content of immunoglobulins and fibrinogen.

Possible diseases

The reason for the increase in ESR in the blood in children may be the following diseases.

In addition, in many pathologies, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation can also be increased:

• anemia;
• myeloma;
• leukemia;
• lymphoma;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• diabetes;
• hemoglobinopathies;
• autoimmune diseases (lupus).

For some time after the child's recovery, the ESR value sometimes remains elevated (1-3 months). In oncological diseases, it is high for a long time.

False positive

There are cases when some factors cause a long-term rise in this indicator. For example, an increased value can be when:

• anemia;
• taking vitamin A (retinol);
• obesity
• renal failure;
• vaccination against hepatitis B;
• hypercholesterolemia;
• hyperproteinemia.

If the child looks healthy, he has no complaints and any symptoms of the disease, and the ESR is increased in the child, then the pediatrician may prescribe additional methods for examining the tonsils, lymph nodes, spleen, heart, kidneys, ECG, x-ray of the lungs, blood tests to determine the content total protein, immunoglobulins, platelet and reticulocyte counts.

ESR helps to reveal certain data about the child's health only in combination with other blood indicators, and, if required, with additional examination methods.

When a complete examination does not reveal any reason for the increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, then the pediatrician can draw a conclusion about the individual characteristics of the organism. Sometimes ESR is elevated with normal all other blood counts. In this case, it is necessary to repeat the analysis after a while to make sure that the child is healthy.

Is treatment necessary to normalize ESR?

Usually the indicator returns to normal after recovery. Treatment is determined by the pediatrician, prescribing special medicines that are necessary for recovery (antibiotics, antiviral drugs, antihistamines, etc.)

If the increase in the indicator is caused by a cause not related to an infectious disease or a focus of inflammation, then the doctor will prescribe other methods for its correction.

There is a direct correlation between the activity of the pathological process and the level of ESR, the stronger and more extensive the inflammatory process, the higher the rate. With a mild degree of the disease, the indicator normalizes faster than with a severe one. Therefore, its value reflects the success of the treatment.

With a long-term increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, the doctor may recommend a blood test for C-reactive protein (C-reactive protein, CPR), which is a sensitive indicator of the inflammatory process.

Reduced value

In some cases, the reduced value of the indicator may be less than the established age norm for the child. Most often, with this condition, an increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood is observed for various reasons:

A decrease in the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is less common, however, after a while it is necessary to repeat the analysis. The norm of ESR in the blood in children indicates that the child is healthy, so a preventive examination and blood test will help determine his condition.

Conclusion

ESR is a non-specific topical blood test that reflects the state of health of the child. Its increase most often indicates the presence of a focus of inflammation, and the value of the indicator reflects the activity of the pathological process.

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The most informative way to identify various diseases in a child is a complete blood count. One of its indicators is the rate of sedimentation (sedimentation) of erythrocytes.

Any deviations in the body can have a significant impact on it. In this case, it is important to know its normal values ​​for each age group of children, as well as the reasons why a child may have an increased or decreased ESR in the blood.

What is SOE

This indicator displays the rate of sedimentation of red blood cells for an hour.
It quantifies the inflammatory processes caused by infection, as well as the development of neoplasms in the body.

Indicator characteristic:

• Any inflammation in the body provokes the accumulation of specific substances in the blood, which accelerate the process of aggregation (gluing) of red blood cells. In some diseases, these substances accumulate a lot, in others - less.
• A change in the ESR value can occur even before any symptoms of the disease appear.
• But usually there is a direct relationship between the presence of an inflammatory process in the body and an increased ESR.

For analysis, a substance that prevents blood clotting is added to the test blood, and left for 60 minutes.

At this time, the following reaction occurs:

• Erythrocytes, which are heavier than other formed elements of the blood, join together (aggregate) and settle to the bottom of the tube.
• Two layers are formed in the test tube with the test material; the top one is plasma, the liquid component of blood.
• After that, the height of the plasma layer is measured.
• This value (width) in millimeters per hour is the ESR.

Norms of ESR in the blood in children

In connection with the growth and formation of the child's body, the composition of his blood changes. The sex of the child in adolescence also has an influence.

ESR norms in children by age are shown in the table below.

In the case when the ESR indicators in a child are higher than normal by more than 10 mm / h (for example, if at 2-3 years old it is 32 mm / h), such a high value may indicate the presence of a serious infection or oncological disease, and then additional analyzes are required.

When they are lowered, as a rule, the child has problems with blood clotting.

Elevated ESR

Factors affecting the increase:

• Infections (, tonsillitis, sinusitis, poliomyelitis, influenza, pyelonephritis, cystitis, parotitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, inflammation of the thyroid gland).
• Diseases of the autoimmune system (arthritis, Bechterew's disease, lupus, diabetes mellitus, allergic diseases).
• Renal failure.
• Hypercholesterolemia (excess cholesterol synthesis).
• Extreme obesity (increased fibrinogen level).
• The presence of tumor neoplasms (for any).
• Syndrome of accelerated (increased) ESR. If the patient is not confirmed to have any inflammation, rheumatic diseases or tumors in the body.
• Errors in the analysis (there are cases when the tube deviates from the vertical position).

You must also take into account the following data:

• If the level of this single indicator is still elevated and the predicted diagnosis, when considering all other possible factors, has not been confirmed, and the state of health remains good and vigorous, then such an increase does not need separate treatment.
• ESR may remain elevated for a short time even after recovery.
• In oncological pathologies, it remains at a high level for a long period.

Did you know? An increase in this indicator does not always indicate the presence of inflammation or serious diseases in the child's body. In this case, a false positive diagnosis may occur.

The cause of a false positive diagnosis may be:

• Teething;
• Helminthiasis;
• Avitaminosis;
• Adolescence (in girls, the rate is higher than in boys);
• Time of day (increases from 13 to 18 hours);
• Stress;
• Vaccination;
• Taking medications (for example, antipyretics containing paracetamol);
• Intoxication;
• Injuries due to broken bones or damage to soft tissues;
• Fatty food.

Did you know? In this case, after the recovery of the body after such a short-term ailment, as a rule, the ESR level returns to normal values, as may be evidenced by the results of repeated analyzes.

Decreased ESR

Factors affecting the decline in the indicator:

• A benign tumor that increases the number of red blood cells in the blood (polycythemia).
• Thrombohemorrhagic syndrome (poor blood clotting).
• Congenital disorders of blood coagulation (dysfibrinogenemia, afibrinogenemia).
• Heart failure.
• Treatment with valproic acid (used for epilepsy).
• Treatment with low molecular weight dextran (plasma substitution solution).
• Cachexia (extreme exhaustion of the body, characterized by general weakness, significant weight loss).
• Refusal of food of animal origin.
• as a side effect of treatment.
• Technical shortcomings in the analysis (testing more than 2 hours after blood sampling; cooling of blood samples).

• If the analysis of the sedimentation rate and the results of additional studies agree, the doctor has the opportunity to confirm or exclude the suspected diagnosis. However, a normal result does not exclude that the disease is still present.
• If ESR is the only elevated indicator in the analysis, and there are no other symptoms, the specialist cannot make an accurate diagnosis. In this case, after some time, a second study is prescribed to make an accurate diagnosis.
• To normalize this indicator, the doctor prescribes a treatment appropriate for the disease (for bacterial infections, it can be an antibiotic, for viral infections, an antiviral drug, for allergic reactions, antihistamines, and so on).
• Any, even minor stress can affect the reliability of the data obtained from the analysis. Therefore, it is not carried out immediately after x-rays, physiotherapy procedures, prolonged crying of the child and after eating.
• Blood sampling for analysis is done in the morning, on an empty stomach, avoiding any emotional stress on the baby.
• In most cases, the indicator returns to normal after recovery.
• Preventive examination of the child for the presence of diseases is recommended to be carried out at least once a year.

Along with the results of the analysis, the following should be taken into account:

• Child's health history;
• Results of other examinations (urinalysis, advanced blood count, lipid analysis, C-reactive protein test).

Important! In case of non-compliance with the norm, only the doctor can prescribe treatment; You should not give your baby medicines on your own, as this can cause even more harm.

ESR norm in children by age - video

The study of erythrocyte sedimentation rate is inextricably linked with a general blood test. Therefore, it is worth carefully studying all the factors affecting this indicator. Doctor E. Komarovsky talks about this in detail in the next video.

Regardless of the age and gender of the child, parents should remember that his body is constantly under the influence of various adverse factors: seasonal colds, stress, an unbalanced diet. They directly affect the body, in particular, the qualitative and quantitative composition of blood elements.

The study of ESR, along with other tests, can help determine the presence of an infection or other pathology in a child and choose the right treatment.

And in what cases did your baby have this indicator increased or decreased? How long has the deviation been observed? What measures did the doctor take to normalize it? Please write in the comments.

ESR is one of the indicators determined by a general blood test. By its level, one can judge the state of health of the subject. If the ESR is greatly underestimated or overestimated, a pathology has clearly developed in the body. However, in children, this can sometimes be a variant of the norm. Let's figure out in which cases the deviation is really a cause for concern.

The ESR indicator is not considered separately from others - the number of leukocytes, erythrocytes and blood platelets.

What is SOE

ESR is short for erythrocyte sedimentation rate. After sampling, the blood is sent to the laboratory. There it is mixed with a special substance - an anticoagulant, which prevents clots from forming. Over time, two layers form in the test tube:

• Lower - settled erythrocytes. This is the name given to red blood cells containing hemoglobin.
• Upper - plasma.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is determined by measuring the bottom layer every hour. The average change in the height of the column in millimeters over this period of time is the ESR.

Norm in children and adults

The normal level of this indicator changes with age. ESR norm in children (mm / hour):

• newborns - 0-2.8;
• 1 month - 2-5;
• 2-6 months - 4-6;
• 0.5-1 year - 3-10;
• 1-5 years - 5-11;
• 6-14 years - 4-12.

In newborn babies, as a rule, a low erythrocyte sedimentation rate is observed.

From the age of 14, differentiation by gender begins. Norm:

• 14-20 years old. Boys have 1-10. In girls - 2-15 mm / hour.
• 20-30 years for women - 8-15.
• From 30 years for women - 8-20.
• 20-60 years for men - 2-10.
• From 60 for men - 2-15.

Attention! During pregnancy, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases, so the upper limit of normal increases to 45 mm / h.

Causes of deviation from the norm

There are many reasons for the change in the rate of red cell sedimentation, and most of them are harmless. If there is a threat to the health or life of the child, then there will definitely be accompanying symptoms. Therefore, do not worry in vain if an increased ESR is found in a baby, but he feels great.

Even the time of the last meal or excessive body weight could affect the deviation from the norm.

Low ESR

Possible causes of low ESR:

• Thickening of the blood (erythrocytosis). This state accompanies at and .

Decreased levels may indicate dehydration.

• Congenital or acquired heart disease.
• Liver disorders.
• Decreased overall pH.
• Red brain tumor (erythremia), accompanied by an increase in the number of erythrocytes, platelets and leukocytes in the blood.
• Low fibrinogen level.

Despite the seriousness of the causes of low ESR in children, there is little cause for concern. Usually the rate drops with dehydration. Heart disease occurs only in 0.5-1% of children, and it is accompanied by symptoms: palpitations, shortness of breath, swelling. The remaining cases are either harmless and easily treated, or occur more frequently in adults than in children.

Attention! Pediatricians say that a low erythrocyte sedimentation rate can be a variant of the norm if there are no deviations from other indicators. At the same time, the child feels great, he has a good appetite and sleep.

High ESR

Very often, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases. There can be so many reasons for this that it is more convenient to distribute them into groups.

Norm variant

High ESR is the norm when factors are identified in which this indicator is always increased, and there is no threat to health:

• The age of the baby is 27-32 days or 2 years.
• Obesity.
• Treatment with dextran or.
• Taking vitamin A.
• Administering the hepatitis B vaccine.
• Low content of erythrocytes and.
• An increase in the concentration of proteins in the blood plasma with a constant level of fibrinogen.
• Avitaminosis.
• The abundance of fatty foods in the menu of a child or a nursing mother.

If teeth are cut, the ESR may increase.

Christina writes in a review:

“At a daughter from the age of two, the ESR is always slightly higher than normal. But the examination showed that she was healthy. Then the pediatrician asked how the process of blood sampling took place. It turns out that if a child is very afraid, cries and breaks out, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate can increase. But this does not affect health.

harmless reasons

Here we include non-life-threatening diseases, with adequate treatment, passing without complications and consequences:

• (usually enterobiasis or ascariasis).
• Inflammatory diseases (, bronchitis, otitis media and others ending in "-itis").
• Severe bruises and broken bones.

Fractures or injuries may affect the results of the analysis.

• Diseases of the joints and other connective tissues.
• Excess or deficiency of thyroid hormones (hyper- and hypothyroidism).
• Bronchial asthma and other autoimmune diseases.
• Allergy, shock (including anaphylactic).
• Psoriasis and.
• Infectious diseases of a bacterial or viral nature (ARVI, influenza) are the most common cause of an increase in ESR.

Margarita writes:

“Sofia has allergies, so ESR is never below 20. At the appointment with the allergist, we are prescribed various drugs. We are treated with them for several days, and then we go to donate blood for analysis. The doctor said that we will focus on the drug that will cause a decrease in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate to normal. This will be proof of the effectiveness of the treatment.”

Causes dangerous to health and life

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate can be 30, 40 or more mm/hour in the following diseases:

• diabetes;
• tuberculosis;
• oncology (blood or organs);
• blood poisoning.

For your peace of mind, we enclose other symptoms of these diseases. If the baby does not have them, then do not start panicking. Although a full examination will not be superfluous.

With diabetes, the child often feels thirsty. He becomes irritable, the mass is rapidly decreasing. There is involuntary urination at night. Increasingly, skin infections are worrying, and teenage girls are also.

A symptom of diabetes is intense thirst.

With tuberculosis, children also lose weight. They experience general malaise, often complain of headaches. Appetite is getting worse, and in the evening the temperature rises to 37, maximum 37.5 degrees. With the further development of the disease, coughing and hemoptysis, pain in the chest region begins.

With oncological diseases, immunity decreases, the number of birthmarks increases. Weight is rapidly falling, malaise develops. Palpation reveals an increase in lymph nodes. In the later stages, pain and jaundice are added to the symptoms.

When blood is infected, the temperature rises sharply to 39-40 degrees, shortness of breath develops, the heart rate rises to 130-150 beats / min. The skin becomes icteric, it appears bubbles filled with blood. Bursting blood vessels in the eyeballs.

A symptom of blood poisoning is a very high temperature, shortness of breath, a strong heartbeat.

What to do with accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation in children

Calm! A high ESR is not a basis for making a diagnosis, but only a reason to conduct an additional examination. Even if the child has this figure of 50 mm / h, this does not mean that he is seriously ill. In most cases, another reason for the deviation from the norm is found or technical errors pop up during the analysis. If, after a full diagnostic study, no other symptoms are detected, they talk about the syndrome of increased ESR. This is a safe condition for health, but it requires monitoring by a doctor.

Only a doctor can make a correct diagnosis.

Diagnostics

To find out the cause of accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation, the doctor:

• prescribes another one (general or biochemical);
• directs to ;
• examines the lungs, kidneys and heart;
• examines and palpates (probes with hands) the child.
• asks parents.

The most common diagnosis after such a study is an infectious or inflammatory disease. And it would be a mistake right away (and Dr. Komarovsky believes that in Russia they are often prescribed to children without reason). The fact is that viral and bacterial diseases are treated differently.

The doctor may prescribe a second retake of the tests.

Treatment

Komarovsky says that in order to choose treatment tactics, it is necessary to carefully study the leukocyte formula (the percentage of different types of leukocytes in the blood). It includes:

• neutrophils;
• eosinophils;
• basophils;
• monocytes;
• lymphocytes.

Correct decoding of the leukocyte formula will help to identify the nature of the disease. Each type of leukocyte protects the body only from one "enemy". So, if the number of lymphocytes has increased, then this is due to a viral infection. And if the disease is bacterial, then there will be more neutrophils. With helminthiases, the number of monocytes increases.

The ESR indicator does not always give a reliable picture of health. At the beginning of the disease, it really rises sharply, but after the cure, it can remain high for several weeks and even months.

After any inflammation, the indicators remain elevated for a long time.

Therefore, a more informative research method has long been used abroad - analysis for C-reactive protein, the level of which is influenced by much fewer factors. This is a protein that appears in the blood at the initial stage of the disease and disappears immediately after recovery. If not, the treatment was successful.

Angelina writes:

“My son is 2.8 years old. 4 months ago I had a strong flu. Since then, the ESR has been kept at 38 mm/h. It's very long, so I can't find my place. We take a blood test 2 times a month, but there is no improvement, although the child feels well. The doctor reassures, says that these are all the consequences of an infection.”

It is important to understand that there is no pill that would simply return the ESR to normal. The deviation of the indicator is not an independent disease, but a sign of damage to the body. You need to treat the cause that led to it. And to identify it, you will have to undergo additional examination.

Alisa Nikitina

Regular determination of the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in the blood of children is one of the ways to monitor health. The study of ESR to detect the presence of pathology at the earliest stage of its development. The specific form of the disease is determined by the pediatrician during a more detailed examination.

The norm of ESR in children, which can only be detected by a blood test, indicates optimal indicators that prepare a sufficient rate of gluing together of blood cells.

Here we mean only erythrocytes. Blood for this relatively painless procedure is used exclusively venous and is taken from the veins or capillaries of the upper and lower extremities.

There is no therapy that can even out abnormal ESR data in children and adults. This requires the identification of the disease, if any, and its full treatment. Only after this, erythrocyte sedimentation will eventually become normal.

In modern practice, three methods are used to determine the norm of ESR in children:

• Panchenkov's method;
• Wintrobe method;
• Westergren's method

The principle of all these procedures is approximately the same. They are a non-specific test for the presence in the body of malignant neoplasms and other pathological changes of an inflammatory nature, including those caused by any infection.

Blood sampling

The main features of the methods only in the methods of blood sampling:

• ESR according to Panchenkov, the biomaterial is extracted from the finger;
• according to Vintrob - from a vein;
• the Westergren method involves two options: blood from a vein or from the heel.

For the needs of the researcher in the latter case, no more than two drops are required. They are applied to a special paper indicator.

Digitally, the ESR is expressed in millimeters of erythrocytes that settled within an hour at the bottom of an elongated glass tube, installed vertically in a stand, after diluting the plasma of the studied biomaterial with a special citrate that dissolves ordinary blood.

Standard conditions for conducting these studies:

• diameter and length of test tubes for blood (respectively - 2.55 and 300 millimeters);
• temperature regime - from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius;
• limitation of the analysis on time - hour.

Conducting an analysis

Analysis steps:

1. taking venous blood from a patient;
2. adding 5% sodium citrate to the sample in the proportion - 1 dose of citrate to 4 blood;
3. introduction of the solution into vertically installed test tubes;
4. start the timer separately for each tube for exactly 1 hour.

The separation of plasma into a transparent and dark mass, representing a concentrate of erythrocytes, occurs due to sodium citrate. It coagulates the serum. As a result of this, the heavier fractions, under the force of their gravity, are at the bottom.

The process takes place in four phases:

1. on the first - only the heaviest erythrocytes settle;
2. on the second - sedimentation is accelerated as a result of aggregation of erythrocytes;
3. on the third, the sedimentation rate increases even more, since the number of "coin columns" (stuck together erythrocytes) becomes predominant;
4. on the fourth - there are no more unsettled erythrocytes in the plasma, and their settling stops.

Westergren's method

The most accurate way to determine the ESR in children is the Westergren method. Its features are:

• use in the study of venous blood in a child of its small volumes (1 ml);
• the use of not glass, but plastic test tubes with an inclination angle of 18 degrees;
• mixing citrate with blood in an automatic way;
• accelerated test - not in an hour, but in 20 minutes;
• built-in temperature controller;
• temperature correction using the Mentley nomogram;
• simplicity and safety in operation;
• objectivity of results due to full automation of the analysis process.

The advantages of the method include the possibility of using Westergren instruments of any power, depending on the purpose of the analysis. The modern line of models includes devices that can provide absolutely accurate ESR results.

These include analyzers giving:

• 30 analyzes per hour for 10 positions (Ves-matic Easy);
• 60 per hour for 20 positions (Ves-matic 20);
• 180 per hour for 30 positions (Ves-matic 30);
• 180 per hour for 30 positions (Ves-matic 30 plus);
• 200 per hour for 200 positions (Ves-matic Cub 200).

The Westergren testing procedure is carried out as follows:

1. the test tube is filled with venous blood taken from the patient to a certain mark in the Vest-matic analyzer;
2. sodium citrate is added to the material;
3. the automatic mixer of the components starts;
4. to start the measurement, the “Test” button is pressed;
5. after ten or twenty minutes (depending on the analyzer model), the patient's ESR will be automatically determined.

Blood counts are normal

When testing children for the presence of pathology in them, the value of not only the ESR, but also all other components of the blood plasma is determined.

In the normal state of the body, the indicators should be as follows:

The ESR norm in children up to a year is not much different from the level that is maintained in the process of growth and maturation of the child.

As the table shows, the age of the child affects all blood counts. ESR above normal in a child sometimes means not only the presence of a disease. In children, the physiological response to various environmental factors is constantly changing by age. However, most often, the ESR study is used to diagnose possible pathologies in children.

When appointed

Pediatricians resort to ESR analysis most often for the prevention of common childhood diseases. More specific reasons are also possible, namely:

• to clarify the diagnosis of previously identified inflammation processes;
• with cardiovascular pathologies;
• disorders in the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
• if a child has a malignant tumor or is suspected.

In addition, testing for ESR is necessary when a patient develops the following symptoms:

• stock ;
• poor appetite;
• rapid weight loss;
• pain in the pelvic region.

How is the ESR test taken?

A blood test in a child is carried out only in the morning and on an empty stomach. Blood is taken from a finger:

1. the pad of the ring finger is wiped with cotton soaked in alcohol;
2. the skin is punctured with a special needle;
3. the dropped drop is wiped off the pad to avoid the ingress of random impurities into the blood;
4. the second drop of the biomaterial is placed in a test tube.

Blood should flow from the puncture without forcing the laboratory assistant. In the case of pressure on the finger, lymph can penetrate into the desired biomaterial and lead to a distortion of the study result. To do this, before taking blood, the child is asked to squeeze the fist several times or warm the hand in warm water.

If blood is taken from a vein, the forearm is pre-tightened with a rubber band so that the pressure is as high as possible.

Given that the procedure is somewhat painful and outwardly frightening, since the child sees his own blood, in order to calm him down, one of the parents is allowed to be near and calm the baby.

Nausea with dizziness, which often occurs in children after blood sampling, is well removed by sweet tea, chocolate and juices.

Deciphering the results

The value of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in childhood depends on the physiological characteristics of the patient. The state of the SEA indicator is also affected by the time of day, existing diseases, the sex of the child, and a number of other factors.

If the level of erythrocyte sedimentation rate is low, you need to think about the presence of viral infections or diseases affecting the cardiovascular system.

The situation is especially dangerous when even a very low content of erythrocytes is found in the urine of a child during the analysis. This means that the baby is seriously ill and needs to be urgently shown to the pediatrician. Urine, like blood, reflects the physiological processes that cover the entire body.

Testing blood for erythrocyte sedimentation rate is not a guarantee of a definitive diagnosis. This is only the first step in a whole complex of tests in the event that the doctor suspects the possibility of the existence of any disease-causing process in the child. However, constant knowledge of the level of ESR in your child gives you the opportunity to help him in a timely manner.