title: Do Serum Creatinine Levels Show Clinically Significant Fluctuations on Serial Determinations on the Siemens Advia 1800 Analyzer?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of this work was to determine whether there are clinically significant fluctuations in the level of serum creatinine on serial determinations, especially in the borderline range (1.1-1.3 mg/dl), after specimen storage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-one serum samples were analyzed. They were divided into three categories based on the initial serum creatinine measurement: low (≤1.0 mg/dl), borderline (1.1-1.3 mg/dl), and high (≥1.4 mg/dl). The specimens were stored at 4°C and run on the Siemens Advia 1800 chemistry analyzer on days 1, 3, and 11.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistical comparisons of the three groups were made using the unpaired t-test, yielding a two-tailed P-value for each group comparison. The P-values ranged from 0.0829 to 0.3892, indicating no statistically significant difference between the standard deviations of each group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mild-to-moderate fluctuations in precision occur in successive serum creatinine determinations. The overwhelming majority of these fluctuations should not affect clinical decision making.
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levitan
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Aaron E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Jose V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Scarpa Carniello
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Momeni
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kagan
authors.affiliation: New York Harbor VA Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Herol
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alexis
authors.affiliation: New York Harbor VA Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Ikram
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eid
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Loretta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marshal
authors.affiliation: New York Harbor VA Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Edlira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tafani
authors.affiliation: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pincus
mesh_terms: D002624:Chemistry, Clinical / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine
keywords: Siemens Advia 1800 analyzer; creatinine; reproducibility; serum; storage