title: The construction of biochemical reference ranges and the identification of possible adverse drug reactions in the elderly.
abstract: In the assessment of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) it is important to establish what is a normal range of values for a given biochemical measurement. Furthermore, such ranges need to be specific to the study population, for example, the elderly. A mixture of Gaussian distributions has been used in the construction of the reference ranges with maximum likelihood used to obtain estimates of the unknown parameters. With this approach, well-defined reference ranges have been established. Brief details are given of the numbers of ADRs identified in the study population using these ranges.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Statistics and Operational Research, University of Exeter, U.K.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: V F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Trewin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood; D014508:Urea / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006454:Hemoglobins; D014508:Urea; D012964:Sodium; D003404:Creatinine; D001663:Bilirubin; D011188:Potassium