Paeds Cases · clinical-assessment-and-reasoning
Interpreting common paediatric laboratory reference ranges — OSCE
OSCE station on interpreting flagged paediatric laboratory results and counselling caregivers.
On this page
Study tools
Target exams
MRCPCH ClinicalRACP DCE
Prompt
Parent of a thriving 3-year-old is distressed by red-flagged ALP and a slightly high creatinine printed against adult ranges on a shared adult-hospital report.
Objectives
- Explain reference interval versus decision limit versus critical value in plain language. [4] [5]
- Interpret age-related ALP and creatinine without adult cut-off errors. [2] [3]
- Counsel the caregiver, agree a plan, and safety-net. [1]
References8ShowHide
- [1]Colantonio DA Closing the gaps in pediatric laboratory reference intervals: a CALIPER database of 40 biochemical markers in a healthy and multiethnic population of children. Clinical chemistry, 2012.PMID 22371482
- [2]Zierk J Pediatric reference intervals for alkaline phosphatase. Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine, 2017.PMID 27505090
- [3]Schwartz GJ New equations to estimate GFR in children with CKD. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN, 2009.PMID 19158356
- [4]Gong Y A national survey on pediatric critical values used in clinical laboratories across Canada. Clinical biochemistry, 2009.PMID 19683519
- [5]Ceriotti F Establishing pediatric reference intervals: a challenging task. Clinical chemistry, 2012.PMID 22377530
- [6]Pasic MD Influence of fasting and sample collection time on 38 biochemical markers in healthy children: a CALIPER substudy. Clinical biochemistry, 2012.PMID 22820439
- [7]Pasricha SR Measuring haemoglobin concentration to define anaemia: WHO guidelines. Lancet (London, England), 2024.PMID 38493792
- [8]Schwartz GJ Measurement and estimation of GFR in children and adolescents. Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN, 2009.PMID 19820136