Differing Lab Results for rows with same patientunitstayid, labresultoffset, and labname

[josephcscarpa]

I was wondering the correct interpretation of this scenario which occurs semi-frequently (tens of thousands of rows)

Actual Example: Patient Unit Stay ID 144722 was measured at labresultoffset 6197. Row 1 indicates a value of 4.5 was entered into the system at 6217 minutes (labresultrevisedoffset) whereas Row 2 indicates a value of 4.6 was entered into the system at 6321
Measured same time but revised later? What are the explanations for this? Are both results usable or should we discard the first one?

[jraffa]

Hi @josephcscarpa,

It's not uncommon for lab results to be revised. Which result you use will largely depend on your use case. For example, if a treatment was given at 6218, there would be no knowledge of the later revised result at that time, so I would go with the 6217 result. If on the other hand you were modeling the relationship between sodium and potassium, the 6321 is likely more accurate.

Jesse