Biological variation data have many applications in laboratory medicine. The utility and safety of those applications are dependent upon the availability of reliable and well characterised component data. The availability of such data enable users to assess the veracity, relevance and thus transportability of published indices of biological variation to any clinical settings. This webinar, organized by the EFLM Biological Variation Working Group and chaired by its expert member Dr Bill Bartlett, will address the concept of biological variation, where reliable biological variation data can be found and how to safely apply these data in laboratory practice.

Firstly, Dr Aarsand will review the concept of biological variation and the Biological Variation Data Critical Appraisal Checklist (BIVAC) and present in detail the EFLM Biological Variation Database, which is presently the most updated source of biological variation data. The database, accessible at www.biologicalvariation.eu and freely available to users worldwide, provides an overview of published biological variation data, accompanied by detailed, quality-assessed information for all included studies. It also delivers global within- and between-subject biological variation estimates derived from meta-analysis of BIVAC compliant studies and automatically calculated analytical performance specifications and reference change values. Thereafter, Professor Sandberg will provide an overview of biological variation applications and discuss how biological variation estimates can safely be applied in your laboratory practice. Finally, Dr Coskun will present a new model for delivering personalized reference intervals. This model utilizes biological variation estimates, either derived for a population group or the individual, and previous test results obtained in a steady-state setting.