Table 1. Laboratory Data.*.
| Variable | Reference Range, Other Hospital | On Arrival, Other Hospital | Reference Range, This Hospital† | Day 1, This Hospital | Day 5, This Hospital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 13.5–17.5 | 9.8 | 13.5–17.5 | 10.0 | 8.4 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 41.0–53.0 | 29.4 | 41.0–53.0 | 30.5 | 23.8 |
| Mean corpuscular volume (fl) | 80–100 | 71.9 | 80–100 | 72.3 | 69.6 |
| Platelet count (per μl) | 150,000–450,000 | 1000 | 150,000–400,000 | 22,000 | 7000 |
| White-cell count (per μl) | 4000–11,000 | 670 | 4500–11,000 | 990 | 800 |
| Differential count (per μl) | |||||
| Neutrophils | 1800–7000 | 50 | 1800–7700 | 50 | 10 |
| Lymphocytes | 1000–4800 | 590 | 1000–4800 | 930 | 790 |
| Monocytes | 200–1200 | 30 | 200–1200 | 0 | 10 |
| Plasma cells | — | — | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Eosinophils | 50–250 | 0 | 50–250 | 0 | 0 |
| Basophils | 0–300 | 0 | 0–300 | 0 | 0 |
| Reticulocytes (%) | — | — | 0.5–2.5 | <0.5 | <0.5 |
| Sodium (mmol/liter) | 136–145 | 139 | 135–145 | 141 | 135 |
| Potassium (mmol/liter) | 3.6–5.1 | 4.3 | 3.5–5.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| Calcium (mg/dl) | — | — | 8.5–10.5 | 9.7 | 9.4 |
| Phosphorus (mg/dl) | — | — | 2.6–4.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
| Urea nitrogen (mg/dl) | 6–20 | 14 | 8–25 | 15 | 13 |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) | 0.6–1.3 | 1.00 | 0.6–1.5 | 0.83 | 0.81 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (U/liter) | 10–50 | 83 | 10–55 | 77 | 44 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (U/liter) | 15–41 | 49 | 10–40 | 42 | 21 |
| Alkaline phosphatase (U/liter) | 32–100 | 118 | 45–115 | 121 | 99 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0–1.2 | 0.4 | 0–1.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Albumin (g/dl) | 3.5–5.2 | 4.5 | 3.3–5.0 | 4.9 | 4.1 |
| Globulin (g/dl) | 1.9–4.1 | 3.1 | 1.9–4.1 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (U/liter) | 98–192 | 282 | 110–210 | 270 | 163 |
| Uric acid (mg/dl) | — | — | 3.6–8.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| Prothrombin time (sec) | 12.1–14.7 | 13.3 | 11.5–14.5 | 13.4 | 14.0 |
| International normalized ratio | 0.9–1.1 | 1.0 | 0.9–1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Partial-thromboplastin time (sec) | — | — | 22.0–36.0 | 28.1 | 28.9 |
| d-dimer (ng/ml) | — | — | <500 | 571 | — |
| Fibrinogen (mg/dl) | 200–470 | 355 | 150–400 | 474 | — |
| Ferritin (μg/liter) | — | — | 20–300 | 439 | 528 |
| Iron (μg/dl) | — | — | 45–160 | 170 | — |
| Iron saturation (%) | — | — | 14–50 | 51 | — |
| Total iron-binding capacity (μg/dl) | — | — | 230–404 | 335 | — |
| Folate (ng/ml) | — | — | >4.7 | 10.5 | — |
| Vitamin B12 (pg/ml) | — | — | >231 | 505 | — |
| IgG (mg/dl) | — | — | 614–1295 | 1179 | — |
| IgA (mg/dl) | — | — | 69–309 | 237 | — |
| IgM (mg/dl) | — | — | 53–334 | 116 | — |
| Serum protein electrophoresis | — | — | Normal pattern | Normal pattern | — |
| Free kappa light chain (mg/liter) | — | — | 3.3–19.4 | 16.0 | — |
| Free lambda light chain (mg/liter) | — | — | 5.7–26.3 | 10.7 | — |
| Free kappa:lambda ratio | — | — | 0.30–1.70 | 1.50 | — |
| Hemoglobin electrophoresis (%) | |||||
| Hemoglobin A | — | — | 95.8–98.0 | 68.1 | — |
| Hemoglobin A2 | — | — | 2.0–3.3 | 3.8 | — |
| Hemoglobin F | — | — | 0–0.9 | 0 | — |
| Hemoglobin S | — | — | 0 | 28.1 | — |
To convert the values for calcium to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.250. To convert the values for phosphorus to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.3229. To convert the values for urea nitrogen to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.357. To convert the values for creatinine to micromoles per liter, multiply by 88.4. To convert the values for bilirubin to micromoles per liter, multiply by 17.1. To convert the values for uric acid to micromoles per liter, multiply by 59.48. To convert the values for iron and iron-binding capacity to micromoles per liter, multiply by 0.1791. To convert the values for folate to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 2.266. To convert the values for vitamin B12 to picomoles per liter, multiply by 0.7378.
Reference values are affected by many variables, including the patient population and the laboratory methods used. The ranges used at Massachusetts General Hospital are for adults who are not pregnant and do not have medical conditions that could affect the results. They may therefore not be appropriate for all patients.