Clinical laboratory test standards for a sample of schizophrenics

The normal ranges for 15 clinical laboratory tests for a pooled sample of 325 schizophrenics, largely chronic and hospitalized, are presented. Laboratory data came from pretreatment blood samples of subjects who were all participants in clinical psychotropic drug trials conducted through the Early Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (ECDEU) Program of the National Institute of Mental Health. Both parametric means and ranges (mean +/- 2 standard deviations) and non-parametric medians and percentile ranges (2.5 and 97.5 percentiles) are reported. The results generally confirm the finding of increased variability in schizophrenic laboratory test data noted in the past. This, and implications of the method are discussed.