title: [Establishing biological reference intervals of alanine transaminase for clinical laboratory stored database].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish an indirect reference interval based on the test results of alanine aminotransferase stored in a laboratory information system.
  
  
  METHODS
  All alanine aminotransferase results were included for outpatients and physical examinations that were stored in the laboratory information system of Zhongshan Hospital during 2014. The original data were transformed using a Box-Cox transformation to obtain an approximate normal distribution. Outliers were identified and omitted using the Chauvenet and Tukey methods. The indirect reference intervals were obtained by simultaneously applying nonparametric and Hoffmann methods. The reference change value was selected to determine the statistical significance of the observed differences between the calculated and published reference intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The indirect reference intervals for alanine aminotransferase of all groups were 12 to 41 U/L (male, outpatient), 12 to 48 U/L (male, physical examination), 9 to 32 U/L (female, outpatient), and 8 to 35 U/L (female, physical examination), respectively. The absolute differences when compared with the direct results were all smaller than the reference change value of alanine aminotransferase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Box-Cox transformation combined with the Hoffmann and Tukey methods is a simple and reliable technique that should be promoted and used by clinical laboratories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Binbin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Junfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Jiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Beili
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Email: pan.baishen@zs-hospital.sh.cn.
authors.forename: Baishen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D015415:Biomarkers; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010045:Outpatients; D010808:Physical Examination; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000410:Alanine Transaminase