Two Philosophies of Standardization

Preanaiyticai procedures used before routine analysis of patient specimens and when establishing reference values should be as similar as possible. In general it is much easier to standardize the routines for studies of reference values than those used in the daily clinical setting, especially when collecting specimens in emergency or other unplanned situations. Thus two approaches have been suggested  

Only such factors that may be relatively easily controlled in the chnlcal setting should be part of the standardization when reference values are produced. 

The rules for preanaiyticai standardization when producing reference values (Table 16-2) should also serve as ideal standards for the clinical situation. It has been shown that it is possible to apply these rules rather 

Either philosophy is, however, concordant with the concept of reference values, provided that the conditions under which reference values are produced are clearly stated. 

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