Postoperative changes of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, plasma viscosity and C-reactive protein levels after hip surgery.

We measured the behavior of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), plasma viscosity (PV), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in 66 patients who underwent hip implant operations, from day 0 to day 21 postoperation. We analyzed the behavior of these parameters after the trauma of the operation. We identified a subset of patients with evidence of superficial clinical infection/inflammation, where the magnitude and duration of the response to surgery was different from the main group. PV and CRP show less variability between patients and consequently are better indicators of the acute phase response than the ESR which requires a series of values in order to demonstrate a trend. PV can be obtained simply and rapidly, which would make it a powerful tool in determining persistent inflammation.