| Category |
Test |
Low |
High |
Unit |
Comments |
CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY |
Electrolytes and Metabolites[1] |
Sodium (Na) |
136 |
145 |
mmol/L |
|
| Potassium (K) |
3.5 |
4.5 |
mmol/L |
|
| Urea |
2.5 |
6.4 |
mmol/L |
BUN - blood urea nitrogen |
| Urea |
7 |
18 |
mg/dL |
|
| Creatinine - male |
62 |
115 |
µmol/L |
|
| Creatinine - female |
53 |
97 |
µmol/L |
|
| Creatinine - male |
0.7 |
1.3 |
mg/dL |
|
| Creatinine - female |
0.6 |
1.1 |
mg/dL |
|
| Glucose (fasting) |
3.9 |
5.8 |
mmol/L |
See also glycosylated hemoglobin |
| Glucose (fasting) |
70 |
105 |
mg/dL |
|
Liver function tests |
Total Protein |
60 |
80 |
g/L |
|
| Albumin |
35[2] |
50 |
g/L |
|
| Total Bilirubin |
2 |
14 |
µmol/L |
|
| Direct Bilirubin |
0 |
4 |
µmol/L |
|
| Alanine transaminase (ALT) |
8 |
40 |
U/L |
Also called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) |
| Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) |
40 |
130 |
U/L |
Higher in children and pregnant women. |
| Gamma glutamyl transferase |
n/a |
50 |
U/L |
|
Other enzymes and proteins |
Creatine kinase (CK) - male |
24[3] |
195 |
U/L |
|
| Creatine kinase (CK) - female |
24[4] |
170 |
U/L |
|
| Aspartate transaminase (AST) |
8 |
35 |
U/L |
Also called serum glutamic oxatoacetic transaminase (SGOT) |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) |
85 |
285 |
U/L |
|
| Amylase |
n/a |
120[5] |
U/L |
|
| C-reactive protein (CRP) |
n/a |
5[6] |
mg/L |
|
| D-dimer |
n/a |
500 |
ng/mL |
|
Other ions and trace metals |
Ionised calcium (Ca) |
1.15 |
1.29 |
mmol/L |
Some calcium is bound to albumin, thus not measured by certain techniques. |
| Total calcium (Ca) |
2.05 |
2.55 |
mmol/L |
|
| Copper (Cu) |
11[7] |
24 |
µmol/L |
|
| Zinc (Zn) |
10 |
17 |
µmol/L |
|
Lipids |
Triglycerides |
0.4 |
2 |
mmol/L |
|
| Total cholesterol |
3 |
5.0[8] |
mmol/L |
|
| HDL cholesterol (male) |
0.7 |
1.9 |
mmol/L |
|
| (female) |
0.9 |
2.4 |
mmol/L |
|
| LDL cholesterol |
2.4 |
3[8] |
mmol/L |
Not valid when triglycerides >5.0 mmol/L. |
Tumour markers |
Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) |
n/a |
10 |
kU/l |
|
| Beta Human chorionic gonadotrophin (bHCG) |
n/a |
5 |
IU/l |
|
| CA-125 (also CA12.5) |
n/a |
35 |
U/ml |
|
| CA15.3 |
n/a |
28 |
U/ml |
|
| CA19.9 |
n/a |
40[9] |
U/ml |
|
| Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) - non-smokers |
n/a |
3 |
µg/l |
|
| Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) - smokers |
n/a |
5 |
µg/l |
|
| Prostate specific antigen (PSA) |
n/a |
4 |
µg/L |
|
Hormones |
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) |
0.4 |
4.7 |
mIU/L |
Also called: Thyrotropin |
| Free thyroxine (FT4) |
9 |
24 |
pmol/L |
|
| Free triiodothyronine (FT3) |
2.5 |
5.3 |
pmol/L |
|
| Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) |
1.3 |
15 |
pmol/L |
|
| Cortisol (0830 h) |
250 |
850 |
nmol/L |
Cortisol levels are higher in the morning than at night. |
| Cortisol (1630 h) |
110 |
390 |
nmol/L |
|
| Prolactin (male) |
n/a |
450 |
mIU/L |
|
| (female) |
n/a |
580 |
mIU/L |
|
| Testosterone (male) |
8 |
38 |
nmol/L |
|
| (male prepuberty) |
0.1 |
0.5 |
nmol/L |
|
| (female) |
0.3 |
2.5 |
nmol/L |
|
HEMATOLOGY |
Red blood cells |
Haemoglobin (Hb) (male) |
140 |
180 |
g/L |
Higher in neonates, lower in children. |
| (female) |
115 |
160 |
g/L |
Sex difference negligible until adulthood. |
| Haematocrit (Hct) (male) |
0.38 |
0.52 |
|
|
| (female) |
0.35 |
0.47 |
|
|
| Mean cell volume (MCV) |
80 |
98 |
fL |
Cells are larger in neonates, though smaller in other children. |
| Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) |
26 |
34 |
pg |
|
| Red cell count (male) |
4.5 |
6.5 |
x1012/L |
|
| (female) |
3.8 |
5.8 |
x1012/L |
|
| Reticulocytes |
10 |
100 |
x109/L |
|
| erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) |
n/a |
20 |
mm/hr |
Females tend to have a higher ESR. ESR increases with age. |
White blood cells |
The Total white blood cells |
4 |
11 |
x109/L |
Higher in neonates and infants. |
| Neutrophil granulocytes |
2 |
7.5 |
x109/L |
45-74%. Also known as granulocytes (grans), polys, PMNs, or segs. |
| Lymphocytes |
1.3 |
4 |
x109/L |
16-45% |
| Monocytes |
0.2 |
0.8 |
x109/L |
4.0-10% |
| Eosinophil granulocytes |
0.04 |
0.4 |
x109/L |
0.0-7.0% |
| Basophil granulocytes |
0.01 |
0.1 |
x109/L |
0.0-2.0% |
Coagulation |
Platelets |
150 |
400 |
x109/L |
Platelets are part of the formation of blood clots |
| Prothrombin time (PT) |
7 |
10 |
s |
PT reference varies between laboratory kits - INR is standardised |
| INR |
0.9 |
1.2 |
|
The INR is a corrected ratio of a patients PT to normal |
| Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) |
29 |
41 |
s |
|
| Thrombin clotting time (TCT) |
11 |
18 |
s |
|
| Fibrinogen |
1.8 |
4 |
g/L |
|
| Bleeding time |
2 |
9 |
minutes |
|
IMMUNOLOGY |
Acute phase protein markers of Inflammation |
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) |
0 |
(Age, +10 if female)/2 |
mm/hr |
|
| C-reactive protein (CRP) |
0 |
6 |
mg/L |
|
Autoantibodies |
Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) |
|
|
|
|
| Extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) |
|
|
|
|
| Rheumatoid factor (RF) |
0 |
20 |
IU/mL |
High levels not specific for Rheumatoid Arthritis alone. |
Serology |
Antistreptolysin O titre (ASOT) - preschoolers |
n/a |
100 |
units/mL |
|
| Antistreptolysin O titre (ASOT) - others |
n/a |
200 |
units/mL |
|
