Re: Inflammation Level

September 27, 2004

I was wondering if anyone has had an inflammation test done? When

Logan was first being tested to determine what he had, his doctor

did an inflammation test. He did this when Logan had a fever of

about 103 degrees. The results came back with an inflammation score

of 79. Normal he told me is between 5-7. After Logan's fever was

over, he again did a inflammation test, it came back as an 11.

Logan hasn't had any gentic testing done. The inflammation test score

bothers me. Has anyone else had this

done? I would like to see Logan's have a T & A, but the infectious

disease specialist is against it. He feels that is a last resort.

Any thoughts?

Janet,

The Imflammtion level you are talking about is what is called a

sedimentation rate " SED RATE " . Depending on the labratory that does it,

normal levels may be different (anywhere from 5-20 can be considered

normal). All the a SED RATE determines is that the body has inflammation

somewhere in the body due to either a cold (could be as simple as a runny

nose) a fever and sometimes it is used to determine if a child has other

illnesses, like Crohn's for my chld. SED RATES Are shortr udration levels,

meaning that they only last maybe 72 hours in the body elevated while a

perosn is ill. CRP levels are another way to determine an inflammaotry

reaction in the bosy, and that stays elevated longer, especially if a child

is ill formsoemthing other than the normal virus.

ESR is an indirect measure of the degree of inflammation present in the

body. It actually measures the rate of fall (sedimentation) of erythrocytes

(red blood cells) in a tall, thin tube of blood. Results are reported as how

many millimeters of clear plasma are present at the top of the column after

one hour. Normally, red cells fall slowly, leaving little clear plasma.

Increased blood levels of certain proteins (such as fibrinogen or

immunoglobulins, which are increased in inflammation) cause the red blood

cells to fall more rapidly, increasing the ESR.

1. What other tests might my doctor be ordering besides ESR?

Your doctor may order the CRP test as well as other general tests, such as a

comprehensive metabolic panel or a CBC, at the same time they order the ESR.

They may also order additional tests based on your symptoms, such as the ANA

(antinuclear antibody) and RF (rheumatoid factor) tests for symptoms of

arthritis.

2. What do changes in my ESR mean?

The ESR is an indicator in your body. Like pain, it is giving you a warning

that something is wrong. In most cases, the ESR will decrease over time once

the underlying inflammation is addressed. If you have a chronic inflammatory

disease, the ESR may fluctuate with the degree of activity your condition.

Your son's levels returning to normal may be an excellent thing. It showed

that his levels maintained elevation only during the fever epsiode. Some

children may have elevated levels even without fever, but it still doens't

mean anything. A child may not have a high SED RATE, while ferving. (some

women have shared that on this group, I have never been told that by a

doctor) There needs to be other tests to confirm a diagnosis of a disease

or disorder to determine if a child had just a virus, or if he has chronic

condition. have your doctor check your childs SED RATE and CRP level again

while he is not in a fever epsiode.....Then you can see if he has any

inflammation while not fevering. My doctors seem concerned with Mathieu's

SED rate if it elevated over 50, his vary from 30-70, with or without fever,

and on a weekly basis. My sons SED rate never went down until he was put on

his medication for Crohn's to help reduce the inflamamtion in his GI tract.

His SED rate will still fluctuate, (virus, runny nose, cough, fever,flar-up

from the Crohn's,)

It would be expected that a child would have a high SED rate especially if

he was in a fever episode. Usually it is done when a doctor feels a child

may have a chronic infammatory problem. (Rheumatoid arthritis or joint

problems, Crohn's)

On a side note, I haven't had to deicde to do T & A, becasue my child does

not have . I am probably stepping on Fran's toes,(sorry Fran) but the

T & A 's (from experience, I worked in Pediatric Surgical Recovery)usually

don't recover very easily. It is a hard procedure on the family and the

child. They don't like to do children under 2, and would prefer if they

were closer to 3 years old, (at least the ENT's I knew) Children younger

don't understand and may not want to drink due to extreme soreness of the

throat causing dehydration. Chronic screaming can open the wound up and

cause excessive bleeding. Medicine has come along way, and I totally

understand wanting to remove your son's tonsils. Lord knows I would want it

to if it could help my child. Just give the docs some time. I know I am

impatient with Mahtieu's docs sometimes, but they do not intend for your

chld to suffer. They want the best care for him. Have you thought about

doing the genetic testing. Fran is a big advocate of making sure it is not

another Fever gebentic disorder. We had it done on our son. It is an easy

way to rule out a series of genetic dosrders with just a prick of a

butterfly.

Good-luck, I hope this helped you.

Jay

Mom to

5 yrs old

Mathieu 19 1/2 months