Estimating Reference Intervals

Estimating reference intervals.

As indicated in the thought-provoking article in this issue of the Journal by Katayev and colleagues, 1 there are few things more important than the reference intervals we report along with our laboratory measurements. Unfortunately, we laboratory professionals give them far too little attention, adopting manufacturers' recommended intervals, often without even verifying them ourselves and, rar...

Resampling methods in Microsoft Excel® for estimating reference intervals

Computer-intensive resampling/bootstrap methods are feasible when calculating reference intervals from non-Gaussian or small reference samples. Microsoft Excel® in version 2010 or later includes natural functions, which lend themselves well to this purpose including recommended interpolation procedures for estimating 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles. 
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reade...

Reference Intervals: Practical Aspects

Arguably, one of the most important elements of a laboratory test is the reference interval, the values that help clinicians interpret their patients’ test results. Interestingly, though, laboratorians spend surprisingly little time formally addressing the issue of reference intervals. Typically, they adopt the intervals given them by manufacturers, neither establishing the intervals themselves...

Laboratory Reference Intervals in Africa

Assessing Experimental and Intelligent Models in Estimating Reference Evapotranspiration

Introduction: As the most important element in the hydrologic cycle which depends on climate variables such as near-ground wind speed, air temperature, solar radiation, and relative humidity,  reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is normally computed through a variety of methods, each of which requires different and in some cases extensive data that are unavailable in many circumstances, especial...