You are here — Home > Q and A > Factsheets > Laboratory test results: normal values and conversion from SI to metric units

Laboratory test results: normal values and conversion from SI to metric units

24 February 2010

aidsinfonet factsheet 120

The following factsheet is included as a reference for results from common laboratory tests.

Important note

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 infections, 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 the UK, Europe and many other 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.

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 W 0.12-0.50 µkat/liter	M 10-55 units/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 M 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 W 0.15-0.42 µkat/liter	M 10-40 units/liter M0.17-0.67 µkat/liter	x 0.01667
Basophils	0-3% of lymphocytes	0.0-0.03 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). Top number is systolic pressure, when heart is pumping. Bottom number is diastolic pressure when 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/24hr	0.0-7.5 mmol/24hr	x 0.025
CD4 count (CD4 T cell)	460-1600 cells/mm3	460-1600 x 10⁶/liter (microlitre)	No conversion
CD4 percentage (CD4%)	32%-68%	32%-68%	No conversion
CD8 count (CD8 T cell)	150-1000 cells/mm3	150-1000 x 10⁶/liter (microlitre)	No conversion
CD4:CD8 ratio	0.9-6.0	0.9-6.0	No conversion
CO₂ (Bicarbonate)	20 – 32 mmol/L	20 – 32 mmol/L	No conversion
Chloride	95 – 108 mmol/L	95 – 108 mmol/L	No conversion
Total cholesterol: Desirable Marginal High	<200 mg/dL 200-239 mg/dL >239 mg/dl	<5.17 mmol/liter 5.17-6.18 mmol/liter >6.18 mmol/liter	x0.02586
LDL cholesterol: Desirable Marginal High Very High	<100 mg/dL 100 – 159 mg/dL 160 – 189 mg/dL >190 mg/dL	<2.59 mmol/liter 2.59 – 4.14 4.14 – 4.89 >4.91 mmol/liter	x0.02586
HDL: Desirable Moderate Low (heart risk)	>60 mg/dL 40 – 60 mg/dL <40 mg/dL	>1.55 mmol/liter 1.03 – 1.55 mmol/liter <1.03 mmol/liter	x0.02586
Cortisol: serum free (urine)	0-25 µg/dl (depends on time of day) 0-690 nmol/liter	20-70 µg/dl 55-193 nmol/24hr	x 27.59
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
Creatinine (urine)	W 0.6-1.8 g/day M 0.8 – 2.4 g/day	W 5.3–15.9 mmol/day M 7.1–21.2 mmol/day	x 88.4
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 Pre-menopause: 120-5350 µg/liter W Post-menopause: 30-260 µg/dl W Post-menopause: 300-2600 µg/liter	M 10-619 µg/dl 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	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/liter	x 0.05551
Glucose, plasma	70-110 mg/dl	3.9-6.1 mmol/liter
Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT)	W ≤ 45 U/L M ≤ 65 U/L	W ≤ 45 U/L M ≤ 65 U/L	No conversion
Hematocrit	W 36.0% – 46.0% of red blood cells W 0.36-0.46 fraction of red blood cells	M 37.0% – 49.0% 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
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (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 (White Blood Count, WBC)	4000-11000 cells/mm³	4000-11000 x 10⁶/liter (microlitre)	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 hemo- globin concentration (MCHC)	31.0-37.0 g/dl	310-370 g/liter	x 10
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)	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 10³/µL	130 – 400 x 10⁹/L	No conversion
Potassium	3.4-5.0 mmol/liter	3.4-5.0 mmol/liter	No conversion
Red Blood Cell Count (RBC)	W 3.9–5.2 x 10⁶/µL M 4.4–5.8 x 10⁶/µL	W 3.9-5.2 x 10¹²/L M W 4.4-5.8 x 10¹²/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, Unbound Age 20-40 Age 41-60 Age 61-80	M 520-1387 pmol/liter W 20.8-107.5 M 451-1213 pmol/liter W 13.9-86.7 M 416-971 pmol/liter W 6.9-69.3	M 15.0-40.0 pg/ml W 0.6-3.1 M 13.0-35.0 pg/ml W 0.4-2.5 M 12.0-28.0 pg/ml W 0.2-2.0	x 34.67
Triglycerides: Normal (fasting) 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	No conversion
WBC (White blood cells, Leukocytes)	4.5-11.0×10³/mm³	4.5-11.0×10⁹/liter	No conversion

Units of measure

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 SI units 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): 106 or x1,000,000	milli (m): 10-3 or ÷1,000
kilo (k): 103 or x1,000	micro (µ): 10-6 or ÷1,000,000
deca or deka: 101 or x10	nano (n): 10-9 or ÷1,000,000,000
deci (d): 10-1 or ÷10	pico (p): 10-12 or ÷1,000,000,000,000

Thanks to aidsinfonet for original factsheet. aidsinfonet has over 150 factsheets that can be printed in Word and PDF format, many in other languages. Minor edits to this page are for European readers.