Kidney Lab Ranges

[Nayme Cutforth]

Youneed to have your kidneys checked because you can't feel kidney disease. Kidney tests are very important for people who have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. These conditions can hurt your kidneys.

Kidney disease can be treated. The sooner you know you have kidney disease, the sooner you can get treatment to help delay or prevent kidney failure. Treating kidney disease may also help prevent heart disease.

What is CKD? CKD (chronic kidney disease) means the kidneys are damaged and may no longer filter blood well. This damage happens over many years. As more damage occurs, the kidneys are unable to keep the body healthy - then dialysis or a kidney transplant may be needed to maintain health.

How can I lower my risk for CKD? The steps you take to manage your diabetes and high blood pressure also help protect your kidneys. Choosing healthy foods, quitting smoking, and being more physically active are all important steps.

What are the symptoms of CKD? Most people with CKD have no symptoms until their kidneys are about to fail. The only way to know if you have kidney disease is to get tested. The sooner kidney disease is found, the sooner you can take steps to begin treatment and keep your kidneys healthier longer.

How is CKD treated? Treatment includes keeping blood pressure at the level set by your provider, eating foods with less salt and the right amount of protein, and controlling blood sugar if you have diabetes.

Are there medications for CKD? People with CKD often take medicines to lower blood pressure, control blood sugar, and lower blood cholesterol. Two types of blood pressure medications - ACE inhibitors and ARBs - can slow CKD and delay kidney failure, even in people who do not have high blood pressure.

Will I ever need dialysis? With proper management, you may never need dialysis or, at least, not for a very long time. But if your kidneys fail, we will need to choose a treatment that can replace the job of your kidneys to maintain health. There are two types of dialysis - one is done at home daily and the other is done in a dialysis center three times a week.

Is kidney transplant an option? You may be able to receive a kidney transplant. The donated kidney can come from an anonymous donor who has recently died or from a living person. A kidney transplant is a treatment - not a cure.

Your kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and extra water to make urine. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) shows how well the kidneys are filtering. An estimated 37 million adults in the United States may have chronic kidney disease (CKD) but nearly 90% are unaware of their condition. When found early, people can take important steps to protect their kidneys.

Getting an accurate GFR level is challenging because measured GFR (mGFR) is a complicated and lengthy process. This makes it impractical for both clinicians and patients. It is for this reason that healthcare professionals use a formula to estimate GFR. Often, CKD does not have any symptoms until the later stages of the disease. This is the reason why reliable estimates of GFR are so important for identifying CKD as early as possible.

The standard way to estimate GFR is with a simple blood test that measures your creatinine levels. Creatinine is a waste product that comes from the digestion of dietary protein and the normal breakdown of muscle tissue. Aside from CKD, creatinine levels can be affected by other factors including diet; muscle(weight of your muscles); malnutrition; and other chronic illnesses.

*Other factors that can affect eGFR include: pregnancy, being over the age of 70, unusual muscle mass, cirrhosis (a disease caused by scarring in the liver), nephrotic syndrome (a condition caused by having too much protein in your urine), a past solid organ transplant, and some medications.

Ask your health care professional if there are any special instructions to follow. You may need to avoid eating or drinking anything (except water) for several hours before the test. You may also be asked not to eat any cooked meat the night before the test. It can increase the level of creatinine in your blood and affect your eGFR results.

A health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle. After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected into a test tube or vial. You may feel a little sting when the needle goes in or out. This usually takes less than five minutes.

There are five stages of kidney disease. Your healthcare professional determines your stage of kidney disease based on the amount of kidney damage shown by your eGFR or mGFR. Now that your know your eGFR, find out your kidney disease stage using the table below.

It is normal to feel like living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) sometimes means you need to learn a new language. CKD is a complex condition that worsens over time. Early on, only a small number of tests may be needed. As CKD gets worse, your kidneys have a harder time doing all their jobs like helping make red blood cells, balancing important minerals, and keeping your bones healthy. So, you may notice more tests being checked and/or checked more often as your CKD gets worse. You may also need extra tests to monitor for other health conditions that are related to kidney disease.

Everybody's situation is different - some of these tests may not apply to you. Similarly, your situation may need a test that is not included in this list. Also, having test results that are not in the "normal" range (as provided on your lab sheet) doesn't always mean there is a problem or concern.

The recommended blood pressure target may vary depending on factors like your age, other health conditions, risk of falling, and whether you are on dialysis. Ask your healthcare professional what your goal blood pressure should be.

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for your overall health. The definition of healthy weight depends on many other factors like your height, age, and other health conditions. So, ask your healthcare professional what a healthy body weight is for you.

Cystatin C is a protein that is produced by the cells in your body. Like creatinine, it is also removed from the body through the kidneys. If you have kidney disease, the kidneys can have trouble removing cystatin C from your blood. So, the level of cystatin C in your blood starts to go up. For some people, this blood test can be helpful to measure instead of (or in addition to) your serum creatinine to check your kidney health. This test is not as common as the creatinine test and can be more expensive.

If you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), the eGFR is used to determine your CKD stage. In general, an eGFR value lower than 60 is a sign that the kidneys may not be working properly. An eGFR lower than 15 is a marker of kidney failure.

In less common situations where a more accurate measure of your kidney function is needed, your healthcare provider may order a measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR). The mGFR is a direct measure of how well your kidneys are removing waste products from the blood. It can be a complicated and lengthy process. So, it is not used as often as the estimated GFR (eGFR).

In more advanced stages of chronic kidney disease, your kidneys may have a hard time removing extra potassium from the blood, especially if you are on dialysis. People living with CKD can also be at risk for low potassium, especially during earlier stages of CKD. The recommended goal potassium level for most people is between 3.5 and 5.

Sodium is an important mineral that helps balance the amount of fluid in your body. It also helps your nerves and muscles to work properly. Your kidneys play an active role in keeping your fluid levels balanced, partly by helping get rid of any extra sodium in your body through your urine.

In more advanced stages of chronic kidney disease, your kidneys may have a hard time balancing your fluid and blood sodium levels. This can increase your risk of high blood pressure, edema (swelling), and/or heart failure.

Having a sodium level higher or lower than the goal range can be a result of many things. So, your healthcare professional will likely compare your results from this test with your other test results (such as serum creatinine, glucose, potassium, carbon dioxide, and/or urine tests). When looked at together, your healthcare professional can provide you with custom guidance for resolving the issue (if applicable).

However, it is also possible to have a normal sodium level while still consuming too much sodium (salt). When your blood sodium level goes up, your body tries to balance it out by holding on to extra water. This is what causes symptoms like thirst, swelling, high blood pressure, and/or shortness of breath. It is important to limit your sodium (salt) intake to less than 2300 mg per day. Your healthcare professional may advise an even lower target depending on your other health conditions.

Good nutrition is important for providing your body with the resources to fight infections, repair body tissue, and build new muscle. Having a more advanced stage of chronic kidney disease increases your risk of problems with your nutritional health and malnourishment, especially for people who are on dialysis. It is not possible to measure your nutritional health directly, so a variety of tests can be used to check the highest risk areas for health problems.

Albumin is an important protein normally found in the blood that serves many roles in the body. These roles include building muscle, repairing tissue, and fighting infection. A low level of albumin in your blood may be caused by not getting enough protein or calories in your diet, especially if you are on hemodialysis. Since albumin is made in the liver, low albumin levels can also be a sign of liver problems. A low albumin level may lead to health problems such as difficulty fighting off infections. When compared against your other health information and test results, your serum albumin level can help your healthcare professional see if you are getting enough nutrients in your diet.

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