Normal reference-intervals for 20 biochemical variables in healthy infants, children, and adolescents.

We determined normal reference values from data on sera of 2099 outpatient children (ages one week to 14 years) at our institution. Using a continuous-flow instrument (SMAC, Technicon), we determined the following analytes in each serum sample: glucose, creatinine, uric acid, inorganic phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chloride, total CO2, iron, cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and calcium. The resulting data were coded and subsequently processed in an IBM 370 computer, and the reference values (3rd and 97th percentiles) were defined for each analyte. A two-way analysis of variance was also done to determine the influence of age and sex on results of these 20 biochemical tests.