Why do Doctors question paper for sedimation rate?

Why do Doctors question paper for sedimation rate?
It is a blood test to see if you enjoy inflammation
http://www.medicinenet.com/sedimentation... for details
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (a.k.a. ERS, or ESR-Wintrobe) is used to detect non-specific inflammation (also see C-reactive protein).
I have not see it ordered very regularly in any the emergency or ICU settings as the ESR test have largely been replaced near more specific biomarkers, though high values may indicate pathology (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, giant cell arteritis).
For more detail, see
http://www.api-pt.com/pdfs/2006bcoag.pdf...
docs regularly order it b/c they aren't current on their literature (i.e. haven't read a medical account in the second 15-20 years). there are a little more specific tests which can be ordered, similar to ana's, or rheumatoid arthritis panels, or other test checking for inflammatory processes, but an ESR (sed rate) is a starting point if you have surely NO CLUE as to what you're looking for.
It isn't very adjectives overall, but is a decent peak to help exclude giant cell arteritis, or as a track to confirm, if not without doubt, a suspicion of polymyalgia rheumatica. It's also cheap and easy if you're interested as a surrogate attraction for disease activity when followed serially within other rheumatologic diseases. Of course, it's not so good as articulate an anti-double-stranded-DNA in helping beside the differential diagnosis, but those tests are not so specific as deeply of people have a sneaking suspicion that, either.