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It helps regulate immune responses, which makes the IL-6 test potentially useful as a marker of immune system activation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a protein produced by various cells. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are “within normal limits.”įor more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. They are sometimes called “normal” values. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range. They are typically found to the right of your results.
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The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report.
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