{"id":28962,"date":"2015-10-15T22:42:53","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T20:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.badania-medyczne.pl\/?p=28962"},"modified":"2026-10-20T13:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:10:05","slug":"esr-biernacki-reaction-and-c-reactive-protein-crp-blood-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.badania-medyczne.pl\/en\/esr-biernacki-reaction-and-c-reactive-protein-crp-blood-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"ESR (Biernacki reaction, c59) and C-reactive protein (CRP) blood tests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>ESR (OB, Biernacki reaction) and CRP blood tests<\/h2>\n

ESR is known in Polish as OB (odczyn Biernackiego, or Biernacki reaction), after the Polish pathologist Edmund Biernacki, who in 1897 published research findings on how the rate at which blood cells settle varies depending on the disease. Sometimes called the c59 test, it measures the rate at which red blood cells (erythrocytes) settle. Under normal conditions, the blood cells collected for testing settle more slowly, whereas in plasma affected by disease or when erythrocytes clump together abnormally, they settle faster. This test therefore does not measure any chemical substance in the blood, but rather a physical process that occurs in many diseases and inflammatory conditions. There are natural conditions in which ESR may be raised, meaning that blood cells settle faster. This happens before and during menstruation, and from weeks 10\u201311 of pregnancy until 6 weeks after childbirth, because anaemia develops during this time (fewer erythrocytes), so the cells settle faster. Severe and chronic stress or taking contraceptives can also naturally raise the c59 test value. However, you should not dismiss this, as ESR is often a warning sign of inflammation in the body. To make an accurate diagnosis, your doctor will also need additional tests \u2014 usually a full blood count and possibly CRP (more on this test later in the article).<\/p>\n

Generally accepted reference ranges:<\/p>\n

WOMEN: up to age 50 = from 3 to 10mm\/1h, over age 50 = up to 30mm\/1h,<\/p>\n

MEN: from 3 to 8mm\/1h, over age 50 = up to 20mm\/1h.<\/p>\n

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You can buy individual blood tests and blood test packages designed by Polish specialists at<\/span> BadamySie.pl <\/a>and have them carried out at the laboratory you select during purchase, using the confirmation emailed to you just moments after the transaction.<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Raised ESR<\/h3>\n

An ESR level raised by 10-20 per cent often accompanies chronic infections, acute and chronic inflammation, rheumatic diseases (especially rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis), hypercholesterolaemia, inflammatory liver conditions (acute and chronic), hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.<\/p>\n

Doctors sometimes use the informal term \u201ctriple-digit ESR\u201d. This means a result above 100 mm. The result report is issued in Polish. It is characteristic of certain diseases, most of them very serious: severe infections (severe pneumonia, nephritis, bone and joint infections, septicaemia), cancers (leukaemia, lymphoma) and so-called systemic connective tissue diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis and others).<\/p>\n

Low ESR<\/h3>\n

This is rare, but some conditions are associated with a low ESR. These include:<\/p>\n