Closing the gaps in paediatric reference intervals: the CALIPER initiative

Area of Science:

• Clinical Biochemistry
• Paediatric Laboratory Medicine
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Accurate interpretation of paediatric disease biomarkers requires reliable reference intervals.
• Existing paediatric reference intervals are outdated, often based on old technology, leading to potential misdiagnosis.
• Gaps in paediatric reference intervals hinder effective screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of childhood diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the critical need for updated paediatric reference intervals.
• To identify challenges in establishing paediatric reference intervals.
• To introduce the CALIPER initiative for creating a comprehensive paediatric reference interval database.

Main Methods:

• Review of current approaches to establishing laboratory reference intervals.
• Identification of data gaps in paediatric populations.
• Overview of the CALIPER initiative's methodology and goals.

Main Results:

• Significant deficiencies exist in current paediatric laboratory reference intervals.
• Challenges include paediatric specimen collection, method harmonization, and population differences.
• The CALIPER initiative is developing a harmonized database for paediatric reference intervals.

Conclusions:

• Urgent need for a comprehensive and accurate paediatric reference interval database.
• Addressing challenges in data collection and standardization is key.
• The CALIPER initiative offers a promising solution for improving paediatric diagnostic accuracy.