Lab Tests Explained: What is a Normal Range?
Continuing our series on lab tests, Dr. Dave Strobel is taking a step back to answer an important question. How do doctors decide which test results are good and which are a sign there may be something wrong?
By administering a given test to a large enough healthy population, doctors are able to determine a range of results that healthy individuals tend to fall into. This is called the normal range, and 95% of the healthy population should fall within that range.
A problem can arise when too many individuals who have the condition the test is designed to detect are mistakenly included in the so-called "healthy" population. Their results can distort the normal range, making it broader than it should be.
As Dr. Strobel mentions, even when people have normal test results, they may not be optimal. This is particularly true with endocrine conditions due to their prevalence. So many patients have undiagnosed thyroid issues, for example, that an experienced physician may find the optimal ranges for lab test results are different from the published normal ranges.
This highlights the importance of paying attention to patient symptoms and tracking test results over time, not just ruling out a diagnosis based on a single "normal" result.
HELPcare Clinic membership includes more than 60 of the most commonly needed diagnostic blood tests at no extra charge, along with unhurried primary care appointments that give you and your provider time to dig into the results to better understand what's going on with your health.
In the next Lab Tests Explained video, Dr. Strobel will review four common thyroid blood tests along with their normal and optimal ranges.
Note: These videos are presented for educational purposes only. Your use of this site does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Specific medical advice is only offered through membership in HELPcare Clinic.
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