Sedimentation Rate of Red Blood Cells in Epidemic Dropsy

The sedimentation rate of the red blood cells was determined of 74 epidemic dropsy patients and of 8 persons in whom symptoms resembling those of epidemic dropsy were produced after taking food cooked in mustard oil incriminated in natural outbreaks of the disease or in mustard oil to which known quantities of argemone oil had been added (Chopra et al., 1939). The cell volume and the haemoglobin percentage were also estimated. The methods employed were :? 1. Sedimentation rate.?Westergren's (1926) method was used. The readings were taken every 10 minutes for 2 hours. The tests were carried out at room temperature which varied from 29?C. to 34?C. during the period of these examinations. Although from observations made on parallel tests carried out at different temperatures, there is an acceleration in the rate of sedimentation at higher temperatures, the actual difference within the range of room temperature 29?C. to 34?C. is not sufficiently great to alter materially the results obtained.