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Fact Sheet 120
Normal Laboratory Values

April 26, 2007


Important Notes

Each commercial laboratory has its own set of "normal" values, called "Normal Range" or "Reference Range" on your lab report. These values depend on the equipment or method used. Compare your results to the range shown on your lab report. Results that are "out of range" may not represent a problem. Your test results can be affected by several factors, including your age or gender, if you are pregnant, the time of day when the sample was taken, active infectons, stage of HIV disease, and food (some test samples need to be taken after you have fasted -- not eaten anything -- for several hours). Where normal values for men and women are different, they are indicated as W for women and M for men. Discuss "out of range" results with your health care provider.

The table below compares the units used in the United States with the "Système International d'Unités (SI units), a metric system used in many parts of the world. The last column, "To Convert US to SI Units," is the factor to multiply US lab values to convert them to SI units. To convert SI units to US units, divide the SI value by the conversion factor. See below for a terminology list.


Normal Laboratory Values

Laboratory Test Normal Range in US Units Normal Range in SI Units To Convert US to SI Units
ALT (Alanine aminotransferase) W 7-30 units/liter
M 10-55 units/liter		 W 0.12-0.50 µkat/liter
M 0.17-0.92 µkat/liter		 x 0.01667
Albumin 3.1 - 4.3 g/dl 31 - 43 g/liter x 10
Alkaline Phosphatase W 30-100 units/liter
M 45-115 units/liter		 W 0.5-1.67 µkat/liter
W 0.75-1.92 µkat/liter		 x 0.01667
Amylase (serum) 53-123 units/liter 0.88-2.05 nkat/liter x 0.01667
AST (Aspartate aminotransferase) W 9-25 units/liter
M 10-40 units/liter		 W 0.15-0.42 µkat/liter
M 0.17-0.67 µkat/liter		 x 0.01667
Basophils 0-3% of lymphocytes 0.0-0.3 fraction of white blood cells x 0.01
Bilirubin - Direct 0.0-0.4 mg/dl 0-7 µmol/liter x 17.1
Bilirubin - Total 0.0-1.0 mg/dl 0-17 µmol/liter x 17.1
Blood pressure Normal: 120/70 to 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The top number is systolic pressure, when the heart is pumping. Bottom number is diastolic pressure then the heart is at rest. Blood pressure can be too low (hypotension) or too high (hypertension). No conversion
C peptide 0.5-2.0 ng/ml 0.17-0.66 nmol/liter x 0.33
Calcium, serum 8.5 -10.5 mg/dl 2.1-2.6 mmol/liter x 0.25
Calcium, urine 0-300 mg/24h 0.0-7.5 mmol/24h x 0.025

Cholesterol, total
Desirable
Marginal
High

239 mg/dL


6.18 mmol/liter

x 0.02586

Cholesterol, LDL
Desirable
Marginal
High
Very High


190 mg/dL


4.91 mmol/liter

x 0.02586

Cholesterol, HDL
Desirable
Moderate
Low (heart risk)


>60 mg/dL
40-60 mg/dL


>1.55 mmol/liter
1.03-1.55 mmol/liter

 x 0.02586

Cortisol: serum

0-25 µg/dl (depends on time of day)

0-690 nmol/liter

x 27.59

Cortisol: free (urine)

20-70 µg/dl

55-193 nmol/24h

x 2.759

Creatine kinase

W 40-150 units/liter
M 60-400 units/liter

W 0.67-2.50 µkat/liter
M 1.00-6.67 µkat/liter

x 0.01667

DHEA

W 130-980 ng/dl
M 180-1250 ng/dl

W 4.5-34.0 nmol/liter
M 6.24-43.3 nmol/liter

x 0.03467

DHEA Sulfate

W Pre-menopause: 12-535 µg/dl
W Post-menopause: 30-260 µg/dl
M 10-619 µg/dl

W Pre-menopause: 120-5350 µg/liter
W Post-menopause: 300-2600 µg/liter
M 100-6190 µg/liter

x 10

Eosinophils

0-8% of white blood cells

0.0-0.8 fraction of white blood cells

x 0.01

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (Sed Rate)

W<=30 mm/h
M<=20 mm/h

W<=30 mm/h
M<=20 mm/h

No conversion

Folate

3.1-17.5 ng/ml

7.0-39.7 nmol/liter

x 2.266
Glucose, urine <0.05 g/dl <0.003 mmol/litro x 0.05551
Glucose, plasma 70-110 mg/dl 3.9-6.1 mmol/liter x 0.05551

GGT (Gamma glutamyl transferase)

W <=45U/L
M <=65 U/L

W <=45U/L
M <=65 U/L

No conversion

Hematocrit

W 36.0% - 46.0% of red blood cells
M 37.0% - 49.0% of red blood cells

W 0.36-0.46 fraction of red blood cells
M 0.37-0.49 fraction of red blood cells

x 0.01

Hemoglobin

W 12.0-16.0 g/dl
M 13.0-18.0 g/dl

W 7.4-9.9 mmol/liter
M 8.1-11.2 mmol/liter

x 0.6206

LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase) (total)

<=270 U/L

<=4.5 µkat/liter

x 0.016667

Lactic acid

0.5-2.2 mmol/liter

0.5-2.2 mmol/liter

No conversion

Leukocytes (WBC)

4.5-11.0x103/mm3

4.5-11.0x109/liter

No conversion

Lymphocytes

16%-46% of white blood cells

0.16-0.46 fraction of white blood cells

x 0.01

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)

25.0-35.0 pg/cell

25.0-35.0 pg/cell

No conversion

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)

31.0-37.0 g/dl

310-370 g/liter

x 10

MCV (Mean corpuscular volume)

W 78-102 µm3
M 78-100 µm3

W 78-102 fl
M 78-100 fl

No conversion

Monocytes

4-11% of white blood cells

0.04-0.11 fraction of white blood cells

x 0.01

Neutrophils

45%-75% of white blood cells

0.45-0.75 fraction of white blood cells

x 0.01

Phosphorus

2.5 – 4.5 mg/dL

0.81-1.45 mmol/L

x 0.323

Platelets (Thrombocytes)

130 – 400 x 10 3µL

130 – 400 x 10 9L

No conversion

Potassium

3.4-5.0 mmol/liter

3.4-5.0 mmol/liter

No conversion

RBC (Red blood cell count)

W 3.9 – 5.2 x 106/µL3
M 4.4 – 5.8 x 10 6/µL3

W 3.9 – 5.2 x 1012/L
M 4.4 – 5.8 x 10 12/L

No conversion

Sodium

135-145 mmol/liter

135-145 mmol/liter

No conversion

Testosterone, total (morning sample)

W 6-86 ng/dl
M 270-1070 ng/dl

W 0.21-2.98 nmol/liter
M 9.36-37.10 nmol/liter

x 0.03467

Testosterone, free
Age 20-40

Age 41-60

Age 61-80


W 0.6-3.1,
M 15.0-40.0 pg/ml
W 0.4-2.5,
M 13.0-35.0 pg/ml
W 0.2-2.0,
M 12.0-28.0 pg/ml


W 20.8-107.5,
M 520-1387 pmol/liter
W 13.9-86.7,
M 451-1213 pmol/liter
W 6.9-69.3,
M 416-971 pmol/liter

x 34.67

Triglicerides (fasting)
Normal
Borderline
High
Very high


40-150 mg/dl
150-200 mg/dl
200-500 mg/dl
>500 mg/dl


0.45-1.69 mmol/liter
1.69-2.26 mmol/liter
2.26-5.65 mmol/liter
>5.65 mmol/liter

x 0.01129
Urea, plasma (BUN) 8-25 mg/dl 2.9-8.9 mmol/liter x 0.357
Urinalysis - pH
Specific gravity

5.0-9.0
1.001-1.035

5.0-9.0
1.001-1.035

No conversion

WBC (White blood cells, leukocytes)

4.5-11.0x10 3 /mm 3

4.5-11.0x10 9 liter

No conversion


Terminology

Units

gram : common measurement of weight. Used in this table: pg (picograms), g (grams), mg (milligrams), etc. per liter
katal (kat) : a unit of catalytic activity, used especially in the chemistry of enzymes. Used in this table: µkat (microkatals), nkat (nanokatals) per liter
micrometer (µm) : a unit of length. Mean Corpuscular Volume is expressed in cubic micrometers
mole : also "gram molecular weight," a quantity based on the atomic weight of the substance. Many test results in the Système Internationale are expressed as the number of moles per liter. In US units, these measurements are usually in grams per liter. Used in this table: mmol (millimoles), µmol, (micromoles), nmol (nanomoles), pmol (picomoles) per liter

Some units of measurement include the following fractions and multipliers:
mega (M) : 10 6 or x1,000,000
kilo (k) : 10 3 or x1,000
deca or deka : 10 1 or x10
deci (d) : 10 -1 or ÷10
milli (m) : 10 -3 or ÷1,000
micro (µ) : 10 -6 or ÷1,000,000
nano (n) : 10 -9 or ÷1,000,000,000
pico (p) : 10 -12 or ÷1,000,000,000,000



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