referenssialueisiin
Referenssialueisiin, known in English as reference ranges or normal ranges, are crucial in medical diagnostics. They represent the expected values for a specific physiological measurement in a healthy population. These ranges are typically determined by testing a large number of healthy individuals and calculating the statistical distribution of their results. For most laboratory tests, the reference range is set as the central 95% of results from this healthy group, meaning 2.5% of healthy individuals might fall below the lower limit and 2.5% above the upper limit.
The interpretation of a patient's test result is always made in comparison to the established reference range
Factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, pregnancy, and even laboratory-specific methodologies can influence reference ranges. Therefore,