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RBC aggregation and deformability characteristics are altered by inflammatory, microcirculatory, and hemorheologic disease. These changes can be indirectly evaluated using the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Newer point-of-care devices employ syllectometry to evaluate RBC rheology, which can give information beyond the ESR. We evaluated 2 point-of-care rheometers (iSED and MIZAR; Alcor Scientific) in 52 dogs presented to a university teaching hospital. Whole blood samples were analyzed for correlation between the ESR using the Westergren (ESRw) method (measured at 1 h and 24 h) and the predicted ESR using iSED. Plasma fibrinogen and cell-free DNA concentrations were also measured as probable markers of inflammation. The iSED-predicted ESR was positively correlated to the ESRw method at 1 h ( r  = 0.74; p  < 0.001) and 24 h ( r  = 0.62; p  < 0.001). Comparing dogs with or without inflammation (defined as plasma fibrinogen concentration >3.5 g/L [350 mg/dL]), significant differences were seen in the MIZAR parameters of base point, amplitude, integral, and half-time. Median cell-free DNA concentrations were higher in the group of dogs with inflammation (117 [range: 51-266] ng/mL vs. 82.7 [range: 19-206] ng/mL; p   =  0.024). The iSED-predicted ESR is a good predictor of the ESRw and was obtained more rapidly. Rheometric parameters measured by MIZAR may be useful in detecting inflammation and monitoring secondary morphologic and functional changes in canine RBCs., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsAlcor Scientific provided the MIZAR and iSED analyzers and reagents free of charge. Representatives of Alcor Scientific were not involved in subject identification, data collection, or analysis of data.

Characterizing host factors affecting individual health can be important in the conservation of many chelonians, including the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii). However, many routine clinical pathology tests do not reliably detect differences in health status in reptiles. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) has been shown to characterize inflammation in many species, including tortoises, and may be useful in assessing Blanding's turtles. The purpose of our study was to evaluate two methods of ESR measurement in free-ranging Blanding's turtles. Sixty Blanding's turtles captured at two sites in Illinois received a complete physical examination, and blood was collected for determination of packed cell volume, total solids, and ESR with both microhematocrit tubes and commercial kits (Winpette). Method agreement was assessed with Passing-Bablok regression. Associations between ESR and demographic, environmental, and health factors were determined by linear regression. The microhematocrit tube method proportionately overestimated ESR compared with the Winpette. With the use of both measurement methods, ESR was significantly different between study sites, higher in adult Blanding's turtles, and higher in females that were gravid compared with those that were not. ESR was also negatively associated with packed cell volume. ESR values in Blanding's turtles are comparable to other reptiles, and although microhematocrit tube and Winpette results are not interchangeable, their associations with biological predictors are similar, and either method has the potential to be used with separate reference intervals to assess turtles for inflammatory conditions., (© Wildlife Disease Association 2023.)

The clinical application of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) assay is challenging due to its long processing time. However, in 2020 a new automated instrument for veterinary ESR was released and validated. This study sought: (1) to refine the proposed reference range (reference interval, RI) for canine ESR; (2) to compare the ESR values of healthy and sick dogs; and (3) to correlate ESR with other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, albumin:globulin ratio (A/G), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR); and also (4) to study ESR behavior across illnesses of varying durations. A prospective cohort study of 396 client-owned dogs (n = 120 healthy and n = 276 sick dogs) was conducted. Animals with a full clinical evaluation, complete hematobiochemical profile and a final diagnosis were included. ESR was performed according to manufacturer's instructions using the same 1 mL K3-EDTA tube used for the complete blood count. The RI was established at 1-8 mm/h in 14 min. Sick dogs had a significantly faster ESR (median 10 mm/h) than healthy dogs (median 1 mm/h; P < 0.0001). ESR was positively correlated with NLR (r = 0.36), CRP (r = 0.18) and fibrinogen (r = 0.56) and negatively correlated with A/G (r = -0.37). Dogs with an acute-on-chronic disease had the highest ESR values (median 17 mm/h) compared with either acute (median 11 mm/h; P < 0.001) or chronic diseases (median 7 mm/h; P = 0.001). ESR was confirmed as a reliable canine inflammatory marker, positively correlating with the main inflammatory markers in dogs and significantly different between sick and healthy dogs. The ESR assay appears useful especially in dogs with an acute clinical presentation, with or without an underlying chronic condition., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Measuring inflammatory markers is critical to evaluating both recent infection status and overall human and animal health; however, there are relatively few techniques that do not require specialized equipment or personnel for detecting inflammation among wildlife. Such techniques are useful in that they help determine individual and population-level inflammatory status without the infrastructure and reagents that many more-specific assays require. One such technique, known as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), is a measure of how quickly erythrocytes (red blood cells) settle in serum, with a faster rate indicating a general, underlying inflammatory process is occurring. The technique is simple, inexpensive, and can be performed in the field without specialized equipment. We took advantage of a population of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), well studied from June 2014 to May 2017, to understand the utility of ESR in an important wildlife species. When ESR was compared with other markers of immunity in African buffalo, it correlated to known measures of inflammation. We found that a faster ESR was significantly positively correlated with increased total globulin levels and significantly negatively correlated with increased red blood cell count and albumin levels. We then evaluated if ESR correlated to the incidence of five respiratory pathogens and infection with two tick-borne pathogens in African buffalo. Our results suggest that elevated ESR is associated with the incidence of bovine viral diarrhea virus infection, parainfluenza virus, and Mannheimia haemolytica infections as well as concurrent Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale coinfection. These findings suggest that ESR is a useful field test as an inflammatory marker in individuals and herds, helping us better monitor overall health status in wild populations., (© Wildlife Disease Association 2022.)

The influence of plasma proteins on erythrocyte aggregation was studied in a population of young thoroughbred racehorses, using the 60 minute erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) with and without haematocrit standardisation. The ESR was correlated inversely with the haematocrit, but directly with fibrinogen, plasma viscosity and serum total globulins. When ESR values were standardised to a common haematocrit the correlation coefficients for the same plasma protein factors were increased. Albumin levels showed a strong direct relationship with haematocrit which accounted for the inverse correlation found between albumin and ESR. The haematocrit standardised ESR showed no significant correlation with albumin levels. Total leucocyte and absolute neutrophil counts were not correlated with either ESR or haematocrit standardised ESR. The high correlation (r = 0.75) found between fibrinogen levels and haematocrit standardised ESR suggests that differences in this acute phase protein influence the degree of red cell aggregation and rouleaux formation in the horse.

Results of blood counts on 17 red-necked wallabies (Protemnodon rufogrisea) with confirmed necrobacillosis have been compared with those of 36 clinically normal animals. The most common abnormality in infected animals was a raised fibrinogen level, found in all of the cases tested. Neutrophilia occurred in 10 individuals and neutrophil morphology was abnormal in 15. Some infected animals showed monocytosis, raised erythrocyte sedimentation rates, high platelet counts and changes in their red cells. The findings provide useful information about the response of the blood to severe bacterial infections in red-necked wallabies and demonstrate the potential diagnostic use of clinical haematology in this species.

The changes in the percentage of serum proteins and erythrocyte sedimentation rates in 14 swine given weekly injections of Erysipelothrix insidiosa or other antigens were studied. A sharp rise in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and in the percentage of alpha globulin occurred at the seventh day after the first injection in seven of the eight pigs which received the viable cultures. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and percentage of alpha globulin then returned to normal. Later, as arthritis developed, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate again increased, but this time the increased rate was accompanied by an increase in the percentage of gamma globulin. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and percentage of serum proteins remained virtually unchanged in the three animals which were given dead erysipelas organisms and in the three animals which were given culture medium alone.