Guide to results of laboratory tests
This Table includes reference ranges for most routine HIV monitoring tests.
Results are given in both US units and SI units (used in the UK and Europe). Differences by sex are marked ♀ for women and ♂ for men,
The Table was produced by the late US activist Bob Munk for the New Mexico AIDS Infonet and has been used by i-Base since 2003 with only slight modifications.
| Laboratory Test | Normal Range in US Units | Normal Range in SI Units | To Convert US to SI Units |
| ALT (Alanine aminotransferase) | ♀ 7-30 units/liter | ♀ 0.12-0.50 µkat/liter | x 0.01667 |
| ♂ 10-55 units/liter | ♂ 0.17-0.92 µkat/liter | ||
| Albumin | 3.1 – 4.3 g/dl | 31 – 43 g/liter | x 10 |
| Alkaline Phosphatase | ♀ 30-100 units/liter | ♀ 0.5-1.67 µkat/liter | x 0.01667 |
| ♂ 45-115 units/liter | ♂ 0.75-1.92 µkat/liter | ||
| Amylase (Serum) | 53-123 units/liter | 0.88-2.05 nkat/liter | x 0.01667 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase | ♀ 9-25 units/liter | ♀ 0.15-0.42 µkat/liter | x 0.01667 |
| ♂ 10-40 units/liter | ♂0.17-0.67 µkat/liter | ||
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| Cholesterol, Total & LDL
Desirable |
Total LDL (Bad cholesterol) <200 mg/dL <100 mg/dL | Total LDL (Bad cholesterol) <5.17 mmol/liter <2.59 mmol/liter | x0.02586 |
| Marginal | 200-239 mg/dL 100 – 159 mg/dL | 5.17-6.18 mmol/liter 2.59 – 4.14 | |
| High | >239 mg/dl 160 – 189 mg/dL | >6.18 mmol/liter 4.14 – 4.89 | |
| Very High | — >190 mg/dL | — >4.91 mmol/liter | |
| HDL: Low (heart risk) | <40 mg/dL | <1.03 mmol/liter | |
| Moderate | 40 – 60 mg/dL | 1.03 – 1.55 mmol/liter | |
| Good (protective) | >60 mg/dL | >1.55 mmol/liter | |
| Cortisol: serum
free (urine) |
0-25 µg/dl (depends on time of day) | 0-690 nmol/liter | x 27.59 |
| 20-70 µg/dl | 55-193 nmol/24hr | x 2.759 | |
| Creatine kinase | ♂ 60-400 units/liter | ♂ 1.00-6.67 µkat/liter | x 0.01667 |
| ♀ 40-150 units/liter | ♀ 0.67-2.50 µkat/liter | ||
| DHEA | ♂ 180-1250 ng/dl | ♂ 6.24-43.3 nmol/liter | x 0.03467 |
| ♀ 130-980 ng/dl | ♀ 4.5-34.0 nmol/liter | ||
| DHEA Sulfate | ♂ 10-619 µg/dl | ♂ 100-6190 µg/liter | x 10 |
| ♀ Pre-menopause: 12-535 µg/dl | ♀ Pre-menopause: 120-5350 µg/liter | ||
| ♀ Post-menopause: 30-260 µg/dl | ♀ Post-menopause: 300-2600 µg/liter | ||
| Eosinophils | 0-8% of white blood cells | 0.0-0.8 fraction of white blood cells | x 0.01 |
| 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 (fasting <110) | 3.9-6.1 mmol/liter | |
| Hematocrit | ♂ 37.0% – 49.0% of red blood cells | ♂ 0.37-0.49 fraction of red blood cells | x 0.01 |
| 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
x 0.05551 |
| Glucose, plasma | 70-110 mg/dl | 3.9-6.1 mmol/liter | |
| Hematocrit | ♂ 37.0% – 49.0% of red blood cells | ♂ 0.37-0.49 fraction of red blood cells | x 0.01 |
| ♀ 36.0% – 46.0% of red blood cells | ♀ 0.36-0.46 fraction of red blood cells | ||
| Hemoglobin | ♂ 13.0-18.0 g/dl | ♂ 8.1-11.2 mmol/liter | x 0.6206 |
| ♀ 12.0-16.0 g/dl | ♀ 7.4-9.9 mmol/liter | ||
| Lactic acid | 0.5-2.2 mmol/liter | 0.5-2.2 mmol/liter | No conversion |
| Leukocytes (WBC) | 4.5-11.0×103/mm3 | 4.5-11.0×109/liter | x 106 |
| 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 |
| Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) | ♂ 78-100 µm3 | ♂ 78-100 fl | No conversion |
| ♀ 78-102 µm3 | ♀ 78-102 fl | ||
| 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 |
| Potassium | 3.4-5.0 mmol/liter | 3.4-5.0 mmol/liter | No conversion |
| Sodium | 135-145 mmol/liter | 135-145 mmol/liter | No conversion |
| Testosterone, total (morning sample) | ♂ 270-1070 ng/dl | ♂ 9.36-37.10 nmol/liter | x 0.03467 |
| ♀ 6-86 ng/dl | ♀ 0.21-2.98 nmol/liter | ||
| Testosterone, Age 20-40
Unbound Age 41-60 Age 61-80 |
♂ 15.0-40.0, ♀ 0.6-3.1 pg/ml | ♂ 520-1387, ♀ 20.8-107.5 pmol/liter | x 34.67 |
| ♂ 13.0-35.0, ♀ 0.4-2.5 pg/ml | ♂ 451-1213, ♀ 13.9-86.7 pmol/liter | ||
| ♂ 12.0-28.0, ♀ 0.2-2.0 pg/ml | ♂ 416-971, ♀ 6.9-69.3 pmol/liter | ||
| 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 | 5.0-9.0 | No conversion |
| 1.001-1.035 | 1.001-1.035 | ||
| WBC (White blood cells, Leukocytes) | 4.5-11.0×103/mm3 | 4.5-11.0×109/liter | x 106 |
This online paper also includes normal ranges of other CD counts including CD3, CD19and CD56: journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/cvi.00476-12
TERMINOLOGY: Some units of measurement include the following fractions and multipliers:
| mega (M): 109 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 |
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
Last updated: 2 February 2023.