Establishment of Adult Reference Intervals for Selected Biochemical Analytes in Adult Rwandan Population

Abstract

Reference intervals are used to interpret laboratory reports in research and clinical settings. However, a small number of publications address reference intervals in Rwanda and they are limited in scope to some analytes and restricted geographically to some areas. The aim of this study was to establish the reference values for Clinical chemistry analytes in selected Rwandan population. The present study was a cross-sectional prospective study that was carried out in National Center for Blood Transfusion, Rwanda and Kigali University Teaching Hospital, Laboratory Department, between 15th September and 10th December in 2014. 467 blood donors were enrolled and Clinical Chemistry tests were performed using Cobas Integra 400 Plus Chemistry analyzer. Median (Reference values: 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles) for male and female were, respectively: Direct Bilirubin 3.9 (2-6.9) and 3.9 (2.6-6.5) μmol/L; Total Bilirubin 10.3 (4.8-21.6) and 10.4 (5.9-17.3) μmol/L; Aspartate Aminotransferase, 27.8 (16.1-49.2) and 26.7 (16.8-45.1) U/L; Urea, 3.2 (1.3-5.8) and 3.1 (1.4-5.2) mmol/L; Glucose, 5.0 (3.2-7.7) and 4.6 (3.1-6.7) mmol/L; Total Proteins, 76.8 (68.2-87.7) and 76.9 (66.6-85.7) g/L; Albumin, 46.4 (39.7-55.5) and 46.7(40-54.5) g/L; Alanine Aminotransferase, 17.1 (7.2-36.2) and 16.0 (7.3-33.9) U/L; Ɣ-glutamyl transferase, 20.3 (8-75.6) and 21.1 (7.1-63.3) U/L; Alkaline Phosphatase, 74.3 (43.8-145.7) and 73.5 (50.3-135.4) U/L; Creatinine, 84.4 (65.2-107.1) and 81.1 (62.5-98.6) μmol/L; Sodium, 139.0 (134.5-145.5) and 141.0 (134.5-146.5) mmol/L; Potassium, .4.4 (3.7-5) and 4.3 (3.5-5.0) mmol/L; Chloride, 95.7 (89.9-104.2) and 99.3 (90.6-103.1) mmol/L; Magnesium, 0.9 (0.7-1.0) and 0.9 (0.7-1) mmol/L; Phosphate, 1.1 (0.8-1.5) and 1.2 (0.7-1.6) mmol/L. The results of this study on Clinical Chemistry parameters are similar to those published in other African countries, with variations due to the diet and geographical location. Compared to other reference intervals established, reference values in our study presented remarkably low levels of urea which may be due to the diet low in proteins generally in Rwandan population. A large scale study is needed to establish local reference intervals.