Pediatric reference intervals for FSH, LH, estradiol, T3, free T3, cortisol, and growth hormone on the DPC IMMULITE 1000

Abstract

Background-We studied serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), triiodothyronine (T3), free T3 (FT3), cortisol and growth hormone (GH) concentrations in a population of pediatric patients. The reference intervals were determined separately for females and males stratified by age groups to assess age-and sex-related differences. Our objective was to obtain reference intervals for the 7 serum analytes for our pediatric population using the IMMULITE 1000 system. Methods-Serum samples of 800 in-and out-patients, newborn to 19 years old were analyzed using the DPC IMMULITE 1000 chemiluminescent immunoassay system.Results and conclusions-We report pediatric reference intervals for FSH, LH, E2, T3, FT3, cortisol, and GH. These reference intervals provide the basis for clinical interpretation of laboratory results using the IMMULITE 1000 system and the assessment of child development.

Complex Biological Pattern of Fertility Hormones in Children and Adolescents: A Study of Healthy Children from the CALIPER Cohort and Establishment of Pediatric Reference Intervals

“…The opposite was true of LH, for which the reference interval for boys was higher than that for girls during the same time period. Similar findings have been reported by others (7,8,29 ). The surge of both LH and FSH during the neonatal and early infancy period is accompanied by increases in both testosterone and estradiol, as mentioned above.…”

“…However, many existing reference intervals are based on older methods (7 ) and are therefore outdated. Furthermore, most studies that have calculated pediatric reference intervals for fertility hormones are based on very small groups of children (1 ) or hospitalized patients (7,8 ), an approach that has been questioned by some (11 ). As a result, reference intervals for many endocrine markers are not well defined.…”

“…Given the important role of these hormones in sexual development, cir-culating concentrations can differ between the neonatal period, early childhood, prepubertal years, and puberty, reflecting developmental and maturation processes of various organs and tissues (2, 4 -6 ). In addition, important differences are also found between the hormone concentrations observed in boys and girls (5)(6)(7)(8). As such, it is critically important that pediatric reference intervals are established that reflect these changes (i.e., partitioned according to age, sex, and developmental stage) to aid in differentiating between healthy children and those in need of further medical follow-up.…”

IMMULITE® 2000 age and sex-specific reference intervals for alpha fetoprotein, homocysteine, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3, C-peptide, immunoglobulin E and intact parathyroid hormone

“…An abnormal result obtained for any of the analytes studied would lead to physician concern and intervention. As with other reference intervals published previously by our group [1,4,6,7,[22][23][24] these new ranges have been implemented at Children's National Medical Center since August 07 and have been well accepted by the medical staff. They are applied to results obtained for both in-and outpatients.…”

“…Pediatric reference intervals for many analytes can vary significantly by both sex and age from those found in adults, and are of great importance in differentiating between the "healthy" and the "diseased" populations [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Reference intervals for alpha fetoprotein (AFP), homocysteine (HCS), insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), C-peptide, immunoglobulin E (IgE) and intact parathyroid hormone (i-PTH) are currently unavailable on the IMMULITE 2000® analyzer (Siemens, Los Angeles, CA).…”