Critical comments on ‘Significance of a change between two consecutive measured values’

"Critical comments on ‘Significance of a change between two consecutive measured values’." Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, 72(2), pp. 173–174

Authors reply to the critical comments on ‘Significance of a change between two consecutive measured values’

Ariadna Padró-Miquel

Raül Rigo-Bonnin

Xavier Fuentes-Arderiu

Laboratori Clínic, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona

Laboratori Clínic, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona [email protected]

Sir: We recognize the authority of Dr Hyltoft Petersen in all theoretical aspects of reference values and biological variation among other fields. However, the academic rigidity of his comments can hinder the progress towards new strategies oriented to resolve, perhaps provisionally, different problems of the daily medical practice related to clinical laboratory results.

Our proposal, even with its weaknesses, wisely detected by Dr Hyltoft Petersen, tries to improve the present situation, in which physicians decide if a change between two consecutive results is significant appealing to their experience and intuition. If our approach is accepted by practitioners, we believe it will be a step forward in objectivity.