what is the actual meaning of the sed rate and c protien blood draws?

Question

i have an unusual skin infection that resulted in a lump that was removed, but needed to be on vancomycin iv for the passed 2 wks.--the sed rate and the c protien were high..i don't know what that means

Answer 1

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
A test that measures the rate at which red blood cells settle out in a tube of anticoagulated blood, expressed in millimeters per hour; elevated sedimentation rates indicate the presence of inflammation.
C-reactive protein - a predictor of stroke, heart attack?
By John Tyler


Christie Ballantyne, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and Mine-Yine Liu, PhD, postdoctoral associate, look over data in the laboratory
Could a new blood test give physicians the upper hand in predicting stroke or heart attack in patients who show no other risk factors?

Researchers at the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist DeBakey Heart Center see the test as an indicator that may help identify risk in patients for whom other factors are less clear.

The test identifies levels of C-reactive protein in the blood. C-reactive protein is an indicator of inflammation. High levels of C-reactive protein have been linked to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes.

Researchers have found the new high sensitivity test to be helpful in identifying potential problems in those who fall neither into a "low risk" or "high risk" category using the traditional risk factors. The C-reactive protein test is only one of several new markers Baylor scientists are researching in the lab.

"C-reactive protein is not a substitute for the factors we've been telling people to keep an eye on," said Christie Ballantyne, MD, director of the center and a professor in Baylor's department of medicine. "The major risk factors are still age, hypertension, diabetes, high density lipoprotein (the so-called good) cholesterol and cigarettes. We still look at those five factors and we determine the intensity of therapy based on them."

Answer 2

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