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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not an independent disease and it is the general term for a chronic damages and lesions in the kidneys. It can be caused by the disorders and dysfunctions in the kidneys or caused by other auto-immune diseases or systemic diseases.
According to the severity of kidney damages and remaining kidney functions, CKD can be divided into 5 stages. And GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is a criteria for staging of CKD.
GFR can be calculated with serum creatinine, body weight, gender and it is a more sensive and accurate indicator reflecting kidney functions. It mainly reflects the filtration ability of the glomerulus.
Stage 1:
GFR is more than 90. The creatinine level can be normal and there is no obvious symptoms.
Stage 2:
GFR is 60-89. This is the basis for other chronic renal damages.
Stage 3:
GFR is 30-59. Creatinine begins to be higher than the normal range (the refrential creatinine level is about 0.5-1.2mg/dl). The symptoms are not obvious and there can be mild anemia, night urination, etc.
Stage 4:
GFR is 15-29. There can be metabolic acidosis, there are obvious increase of serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid.
Stage 5:
GFR is less than 15. This can be called end stage renal disease and patients will have the clinical symptoms of kidney failure and renal replacement therapies---dialysis and kidney transplant will be needed to sustain the patients¡¯s life.
In stage 1 and stage 2, the renal damages are mild and have not last for too long and it is still reversible with proper and timely treatments. In stage 3 and stage 4, it is crucial period for slowing down the progression rate of the disease and delaying dialysis and kidney transplant. With effective treatments and reasonable nursing cares, patients can stay in stage 4 for years without progressing into the end stage.
