Creatinine Tests And Chronic Kidney Disease

Once people are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), their laboratory tests usually indicate that their creatinine level is high. Generally speaking, whether you have experienced CKD, one of the measurements is measuring your creatinine level. Then is there any relation between creatinine tests and chronic kidney disease?

Yes, they do have some relationship with each other.

First, we should know what creatinine is.

People with chronic kidney disease often hear their doctors or nurses talk about creatinine. What is creatinine? Creatinine is a chemical waste produced by your body and the healthy kidneys are able to filter and eliminate this kind of waste by the way of urine. Creatinine is the metabolin of muscles in the body and is made from creatine, a supplier of energy to muscles. Creatinine in the bloodstream is usually checked with regular tests and the normal creatinine level is 0.5mg/dl to 1.3mg/dl.

Second, test your creatinine level to determine whether you have suffered from CKD.

When there is kidney damage or kidney disease, and kidneys are not able to filter wastes out of the body timely or effectively, there will be likely a rise in creatinine level in the blood. When your creatinine level is high, you may have these symptoms, including high blood pressure,foamy urine ,dehydration, and shortness of breath. In that case, you are likely to suspect if you experience chronic kidney disease. To make it sure, you had better go to hospital to do creatinine tests.

1. Serum creatinine is a blood test. In this test, your blood is drawn and sent to a lab to be analyzed how much creatinine is in your blood. Serum creatinine test is used to evaluate your kidney function.

After knowing your serum creatinine level, your doctor can calculate your creatinine level and determine your GFR (glomerular filtration rate) which is regarded as the best measurement of kidney function. Chronic kidney disease has five stages and knowing your serum creatinine can help you determine which CKD stage you are in.

2. Creatinine clearance measures how much creatinine is eliminated from your body, or how well your kidneys filter wastes. A creatinine clearance test is usually offered by your doctor when your serum creatinine level is higher than normal.

3. BUN/creatinine is the ratio between blood urine nitrogen which is also a waste product in the bloodstream from protein metabolism, and creatinine. This ratio is used to determine whether your kidney function is impaired because of damaged kidneys or other outside factors. If both BUN and creatinine are high, the ratio usually indicates that kidneys are damaged. If BUN is high but creatinine is at normal level, the ratio usually indicates that the kidneys are not damaged but are not getting adequate blood supply due to other problems like dehydration or heart failure.

Creatinine tests are usually used by doctors to determine if kidneys are functioning properly. People with chronic kidney disease should do regular creatinine tests so as to determine your treatment. Besides, you should know creatinine level is only one of measurements for people to determine how well their kidneys are. There are other factors which can also determine how well your kidneys are functioning and if you have CKD. Therefore, when you feel uncomfortable, go to hospital immediately, the doctors are able to detect and treat your disease.