The normal ranges of plasma total calcium in male and female inpatients and outpatients in a district general hospital have been determined using the SMA PLUS (Technicon Instrument Company Ltd., Basingstoke, England), after selective sampling to exclude cases likely to have abnormal results both on clinical and on biochemical grounds. The 95% ranges were 2.15–2.60 mmol/l for inpatients and 2.25–2.65 mmol/l for outpatients.
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