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KMID : 0978920220230020073
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Korean Journal of Clinical Geriatrics
2022 Volume.23 No. 2 p.73 ~ p.81
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Interpretation of Laboratory Test Results in the Elderly
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Bae Sook-Young
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Abstract
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Laboratory test results play a vital role in clinical medicine to improve clinical decision making. Interpretation of laboratory results is made by comparison to reference range supplied by the laboratory. There are a number of laboratory value changes that occur as a consequence of normal aging, it can be difficult to differentiate between abnormal physiological changes and normal signs of aging in geriatric patients. Ideally, the changes that impact laboratory results would be classified in age-stratified reference ranges, but laboratory and age-stratified reference ranges are not commonly available in geriatric age group. So, caution should be exercised when interpretating laboratory results in a geriatric patient. In this article, I would like to briefly describe some of the factors that physician should consider when interpretating laboratory test results for elderly such as the generation of reference range, application of data on biological variation, clinical decision limits and potential interferences of commonly ordered blood tests.
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KEYWORD
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Clinical laboratory test, Elderly, Reference range
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