Reference ranges for blood tests: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Common human medical data ranges for blood test results}}

{{Reference ranges}}

'''Reference ranges (reference intervals) for blood tests''' are sets of values used by a [[health professional]] to interpret a set of [[medical test]] results from blood samples. [[Reference range]]s for [[blood test]]s are studied within the field of [[clinical chemistry]] (also known as "clinical biochemistry", "chemical pathology" or "pure blood chemistry"), the area of [[pathology]] that is generally concerned with analysis of [[bodily fluids]].<ref>{{cncite journal |last1=Miri-Dashe |first1=Timzing |last2=Osawe |first2=Sophia |last3=Tokdung |first3=Monday |last4=Daniel |first4=Nenbammun |last5=Choji |first5=Rahila Pam |last6=Mamman |first6=Ille |last7=Deme |first7=Kurt |last8=Damulak |first8=Dapus |last9=Abimiku |first9=Alash'le |title=Comprehensive reference ranges for hematology and clinical chemistry laboratory parameters derived from normal Nigerian adults |journal=PloS One |date=February2014 |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e93919 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0093919 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4022493/ |issn=1932-6203}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lo |first1=Y. C. |last2=Armbruster |first2=David A. |title=Reference Intervals of Common Clinical Chemistry Analytes for Adults in Hong Kong |journal=EJIFCC |date=April 2012 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=5–10 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27683403/ |issn=1650-3414}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=DomBourian |first1=Melkon G. |last2=Helander |first2=Louise |last3=Annen |first3=Kyle |last4=Campbell |first4=Alice |title=Chemistry & Hematology Reference Intervals |journal=Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics |date=2025 |url=https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=3480&sectionid=291714492 |publisher=McGraw 2024Hill}}</ref>

Blood test results should always be interpreted using the reference range provided by the laboratory that performed the test.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reference Ranges and What They Mean|url=http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/ref-ranges/start/6|publisher=Lab Tests Online (USA)|access-date=22 June 2013|archive-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828020717/http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/ref-ranges/start/6|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Interpretation==

A [[reference range]] is usually defined as the set of values 95 percent of the normal population falls within (that is, 95% [[prediction interval]]).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Je_pJfb2r0cC&pg=PA19 Page 19] in: {{cite book |author=Stephen K. Bangert MA MB BChir MSc MBA FRCPath; William J. Marshall MA MSc MBBS FRCP FRCPath FRCPEdin FIBiol; Marshall, William Leonard |title=Clinical biochemistry: metabolic and clinical aspects |publisher=Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier |___location=Philadelphia |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-443-10186-1 }}</ref> It is determined by collecting data from vast numbers of laboratory tests.<ref>{{citationcite journal |last1=Boyd |first1=James C. |title=Defining laboratory reference values and decision limits: populations, intervals, and interpretations |journal=Asian Journal of Andrology needed|date=AprilJanuary 20222010 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=83–90 |doi=10.1038/aja.2009.9 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3739683/ |issn=1745-7262}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Reference Ranges & What They Mean {{!}} Lab Tests Online-UK |url=https://labtestsonline.org.uk/articles/laboratory-test-reference-ranges |website=labtestsonline.org.uk}}</ref>

===Plasma or whole blood===