Pediatric reference intervals of liver and renal function tests from birth to adolescence in Chinese children as performed on the Olympus AU5400

Background: The growth and development of children and adolescents influence values of liver and renal function tests. The purpose of this study was to determine age- and gender-specific reference intervals for liver and renal function tests in apparently healthy Chinese children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 63,086 apparently healthy children and adolescents (0-15 y) were chosen as reference individuals in this study. The 15 biochemical analytes relating to liver and renal function were measured using an Olympus AU5400 analyzer. Reference intervals were partitioned according to age and/or gender subgroups using the Harris and Boyd's method and established using non-parametric methods. Results: Our results showed that all analytes except for cholinesterase (ChE) and alpha 1-microglobulin (alpha 1-MG) required partitioning by age. Gender partitions were also required for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine (Cre), and uric acid (UA). Age- and gender-appropriate reference intervals for liver and renal function tests were established for apparently healthy Chinese children and adolescents. Conclusions: When establishing pediatric reference intervals, partitioning by age and/or gender is essential. Those reference intervals can be adopted in other clinical laboratories after appropriate validation.