ABSTRACT
Objective To retrospectively analyze the literature of alert thresholds for the critical values of clinical biochemistry and hematology tests in adults,and collect the evidence source of these alert thresholds.Methods The literatures during 2006 and 2016 were retrieved,and the evidence sources were evaluated and ranked using the 1999 Stockholm hierarchy for analytical performance specifications in laboratory medicine.Results Thirty most frequently reported laboratory tests with alert thresholds were presented with evidence rankings.Four determination methods of alert thresholds were reported in 92 articles with alert thresholds for critical values.Among them,70％ of alert thresholds were set by individual institutions,18％ by the surveys of clinical laboratories or clinicians,2％ by the recommendation of professional institutions,and 10％ by the evaluation of clinical findings.The sources of these alert thresholds were ranked into level 4,level 3,level 2 and leve 1,respectively.In addition,the alert thresholds of 7 clinical laboratory tests were presented as critical δ values.Conclusion The alert thresholds are set mainly by individual institutions in current clinical laboratoties,followed by the surveys of clinical laboratories or clinicians.Moreover,the general level of evidence source is lower.