Population-based pediatric reference intervals for HbA1c, bilirubin, albumin, CRP, myoglobin and serum enzymes

Abstract

Background. Many previous studies on reference intervals are hampered by the inclusion of only hospital-based populations of children and adolescents. Methods. This study included 694 children, evenly distributed from 6 months to 18 years of age. They were recruited as volunteers at child care units and schools. All subjects were apparently healthy. A questionnaire on diseases and medications was filled out by parents and by the older children. Results. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin, C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase (CK), Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), HbA1c (mono S and IFCC calibrations), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), myoglobin and panceratic amylase were analyzed on Abbott Architect ci8200, and for HbA1c on Tosoh G7 and a mono S-system. Age- and gender-related 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles were estimated. For some analytes the differences to comparable studies were substantial. Conclusion. The study gives age- and gender-specific pediatric reference intervals, measured with modern methods for a number of important analytes. The results emphasize the importance to evaluate pediatric reference intervals in different populations and ethnic groups including only healthy subjects.

Key Words::

• Reference intervals
• pediatric
• alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
• albumin
• aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
• bilirubin
• C-reactive protein (CRP)
• creatine kinase (CK)
• HbA1c (IFCC)
• lactatedehydrogenase (LD)

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declaration of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.