Diagnosis<unk>  can sometimes be useful in diagnosing diseases, such as multiple myeloma, temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, various auto-immune diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and chronic kidney diseases. In many of these cases, the<unk>  may exceed 100 mm/hour. It is commonly used for a differential diagnosis for Kawasaki's disease (from Takayasu's arteritis; which would have a markedly elevated<unk>  and it may be increased in some chronic infective conditions like tuberculosis and infective endocarditis. It is also elevated in subacute thyroiditis also known as DeQuervain's. In markedly increased<unk>  of over 100 mm/h, infection is the most common cause (33% of cases in an American study), followed by cancer (17%), kidney disease (17%) and noninfectious inflammatory disorders (14%). Yet, in pneumonia the<unk>  stays under 100. The usefulness of the<unk>  in current practice has been questioned by some, as it is a relatively imprecise and non-specific test compared to other available diagnostic tests. Disease severity It is a component of the PCDAI (pediatric Crohn's disease activity index), an index for assessment of the severity of inflammatory bowel disease in children. Monitoring response to therapy The clinical usefulness of<unk>  is limited to monitoring the response to therapy in certain inflammatory diseases such as temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis. It can also be used as a crude measure of response in Hodgkin's lymphoma. Additionally,<unk>  levels are used to define one of the several possible adverse prognostic factors in the staging of Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Intraocular pressure
Rheumatoid factor
Carotid ultrasonography
Retinal vessel analysis
Pyelogram
Coagulation activation marker
Acute-phase protein