Why are labs still running a test for inflammation with a 4-hour time limit?
- Every blood sample begins degrading immediately after collection, and most errors occur before analysis.
- The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and the International Council for Standardization in Haematology require running Westergren ESR tests within four hours at room temperature or 24 hours if refrigerated.
- A 2026 study found that an automated iSED analyzer maintains ESR sample accuracy for up to 28 hours at room temperature and 48 hours refrigerated.
- Despite new methods allowing longer sample stability, labs often adhere to the four-hour limit out of tradition rather than necessity.
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Why are labs still running a test for inflammation with a 4-hour time limit?
Why are labs still running a test for inflammation with a 4-hour time limit?Every blood sample begins degrading the moment it's drawn, and most of what can go wrong with a laboratory result goes wrong before the specimen ever reaches an analyzer. This is the preanalytical phase — collection, handling, transport, storage — and it is estimated to account for the large majority of laboratory errors, far more than the analytical step that labs spend…
Why are labs still running a test for inflammation with a 4-hour time limit? - Stateline Publications
Why are labs still running a test for inflammation with a 4-hour time limit?Every blood sample begins degrading the moment it's drawn, and most of what can go wrong with a laboratory result goes wrong before the specimen ever reaches an analyzer. This is the preanalytical phase — collection, handling, transport, storage — and it is estimated to account for the large majority of laboratory errors, far more than the analytical step that labs spend…
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