Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.24141/1/3/1/12
Reference Intervals in Laboratory Medicine
Valentina Kolić
orcid.org/0000-0002-4082-1730
; Alumni club University of Applied Health Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Lana Feher Turković
orcid.org/0000-0001-5212-3537
; University of Applied Health Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia
Dragana Šegulja
; Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia
Danica Matišić
orcid.org/0000-0002-0608-8870
; Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Laboratory findings are widely used in medicine; from the diagnosis monitoring the disease to tracking success of therapy. For a rational interpretation of laboratory results it is necessary to be familiar with reference intervals. Reference interval includes the value between the upper and lower reference limits, including the values of the limits. The most commonly used and recommended form of the reference interval is 95 % interval which covers 95% of the central values, confining with 2.5. and 97.5. percentiles. To create the reference values should be selected: the reference persons comprising the reference population, reference samples in which is determined reference values. Reference values shows the reference distribution from which then are calculated lower and upper reference limits delimiting reference intervals. Determination of reference values and intervals must be carried out on a large number of healthy subjects which is a lengthy and expensive process. Therefore, in laboratory practice are used mainly baseline and intervals specified by the manufacturer. According to the recommendations of the profession each laboratory must verify manufacturer reference intervals to confirm that they are suitable for the intended patient population. It is possible to verify reference interval using few procedures and is important to repeat verification periodically once a year or by changing any conditions that may have a significant influence on the applied reference interval. Of the few recommended procedures most often is used the one which includes 20 healty subjects.
Keywords
reference value; reference interval; reference person
Hrčak ID:
183323
URI
Publication date:
26.6.2017.
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