Abstrait

Effect of different types of anticoagulants and storage period on the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in healthy and unhealthy people.

Ahmed Farhan Shallal, Zana Hassan Ibrahim, Ramiar Kheder, Safin Hassan Hussein, Shawqi Mahmmad Hassan, Omar Anaam Khalil

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effect of different types of anticoagulants;
(Ethylene Di-Amine Tetra-Acetic Acid (EDTA), Tri-sodium citrate salt (TSS) and heparin), and period
of blood storage on the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in both healthy and unhealthy contrasting
genders.
Methods: The samples were divided into two main groups: males and females. Each major group was
further divided into two subgroups. For each secondary group, two tests have been performed,
immediately and after 24 hours using three different types of anticoagulants. These tests were done on
sample hundred and twenty (120) subjects and their ages were 35-45 years. Westergren method was
used to measure Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate.
Results: There was a variation in levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The differences were
significant (p<0.05) in the case of healthy and unhealthy males, and also were significant (p<0.05) for
healthy and unhealthy females. This study revealed that, there was a decrease in ESR level in case of
TSS compared to EDTA and heparin, where their changes were significantly increasing in both healthy
and unhealthy people. The results showed decreased levels of ESR after 24 hours of sample storage for
all types of anticoagulants used in this study.
Conclusions: The results of erythrocyte sedimentation rate test are different in regard to the types of
anticoagulants used. The ESR levels also affected by the time of the examination.