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Through landmark initiatives such as the CHILDx™ program and the development of innovative indirect methods, ARUP ensures that pediatric test results reflect the unique needs of growing patients. These efforts empower clinicians to diagnose and treat children with greater confidence and support better outcomes from infancy through adolescence.
CHILDxTM: Pediatric Reference Range Study
What is CHILDx?
The Children’s Health Improvement through Laboratory Diagnostics (CHILDx™) program launched in 1999 as the largest pediatric reference interval study of its kind. Marzia Pasquali, PhD, FACMG, ARUP medical director of Biochemical Genetics, chaired the first board of directors, which was established with representation from 15 institutions.
Why was it created?
The goal of CHILDx has been to establish pediatric reference intervals for a variety of analytes to address a critical need. Before the program began, intervals were often based on small sample sizes, leading to unreliable or nonrepresentative test results.
What did it do?
Starting in 2002, blood specimens were collected from thousands of healthy children from 6 months to 17 years old with an eye toward characterizing specimens that were meticulously categorized by factors such as age and Tanner stages (five stages that describe the physical changes of puberty in boys and girls).
This large repository of specimens set the program apart by providing unparalleled access to well-characterized samples that enabled more precise and meaningful laboratory diagnostics for children.
The researchers have created pediatric reference intervals for dozens of analytes and produced dozens of academic papers and abstracts. In addition to Pasquali, they included current and former ARUP experts Ed Ashwood, MD, Mark Astill, MS, Cheryl Coffin, MD, Harry Hill, MD, Nicola Longo, MD, PhD, Wayne Meikle, MD, Sherrie Perkins, MD, PhD, Theodore Pysher, MD, William Roberts, MD, PhD, Joely Straseski, PhD, and many others.
What is CHILDx’s legacy?
CHILDx has made a lasting impact by setting new standards for pediatric laboratory diagnostics and demonstrating the importance of large, well-curated specimen repositories. Its legacy continues to serve ARUP’s clients and to influence the field, especially as new approaches to reference intervals and renewed advocacy efforts seek to build on its foundation.
Novel Method To Establish Pediatric Reference Intervals Advances Pediatric Care
Age-specific pediatric reference intervals are notoriously difficult to establish, yet essential for accurately understanding disease pathology in children.
ARUP is leading the development of a novel approach to solve this historical challenge. By leveraging state-of-the art statistical modeling techniques to analyze the distribution of results in our extensive database, ARUP has completed several studies to validate age-specific reference intervals. Read the full article.
