Background: An extremely elevated erythrosedimentation rate (ESR), defined as equal or higher than 100 mm/h, has been linked to serious underlying conditions, such as infections, connective tissue and oncologic disease.
Aim: To analyze a group of patients in order to determine the underlying diagnosis and the characteristics associated with extremely elevated ESR in our environment.
Methods: Cross-sectional study of adult patients, who presented with at least one ESR equal or higher than 100 mm/h at Hospital Italiano, in Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina) between January 2002 and August 2014.
Results: During the previously stated period of time, we analyzed the results of 879 patients. All patients were over 18 years of age. The median for the ESR results was 111 mm/h (interquartile range 105-120). The most prevalent etiology of an elevated ESR was infectious (41.64%), followed by malignancies (21.62%) and autoimmune / inflammatory diseases (12.97%). The most frequent individual diagnosis found was pneumonia (11.49%), followed by undetermined causes (5.92%).
Conclusion: When comparing inpatient versus outpatient populations, the most frequent cause was infectious in the former group, while malignancies were the most frequent diagnosis in the latter.