ESR test

A general sign of inflammation.

€3.28. You pay at the desk, not online.

ESR test: what it is for

ESR measures how fast your red blood cells settle to the bottom of a tube in one hour. With inflammation, certain proteins in your blood rise and make them fall faster. That is why a high ESR is a sign of inflammation, but it does not say where it is or why.

When it is done

Doctors order it when they are looking for inflammation: a fever with no clear cause, joint pain, tiredness and weight loss. It is most useful for a few specific conditions, such as polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, and for following them over time.

It is not a good test for people who feel well. It rises with age, anaemia and pregnancy, and a slightly high ESR without symptoms rarely leads to a diagnosis.

How the ESR is done

It is a blood test, done at a Bianalisi lab without a prescription. You can add other tests to the same draw.

Questions about the ESR test.

Do I need to fast for an ESR test? Usually not. If you have other tests at the same time, such as glucose or cholesterol, follow the instructions for those.

How much does the ESR test cost? €3.28, from Bianalisi’s private list for Lombardy. You pay at the desk on the day of the draw, not online.

Do I need a prescription for the ESR test? No. You book it here without a prescription and pay at the Bianalisi desk.

When do results arrive? Within 10 working days, in the Rosa app, with each value next to the lab’s interval. The report a doctor approves is in the Rosa membership.