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Update Date: 2009/02/07 04:09
By Wu Zhuohan and Yang Huizhong
Kidney function tests are one of the common health check-up items. However, what is the purpose of the test? And how should the test values be interpreted?
Kidney function tests primarily focus on urine screening. The advantages of urine tests are convenience and simplicity. Through urine tests, the severity of kidney function, diabetes, urinary tract bacterial infections, and other diseases can be assessed to achieve early detection of kidney diseases and prompt treatment.
◎ Indicators that can detect and assess kidney function:
● Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN): Mainly derived from the final product of protein metabolism. The normal range of blood urea nitrogen is 10 to 20 mg%. If it exceeds 20 mg%, it is called "high nitrogenemia."
Because blood urea nitrogen is easily affected by factors such as lack of water in the body, consumption of large amounts of high-protein foods, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, severe liver disease, infection, use of steroid drugs, and insufficient renal blood flow, leading to a temporary rise, although blood urea nitrogen can be used as an indicator of kidney function, it is not as accurate as serum creatinine (Creatinine Cr) and creatinine clearance (Creatinine Clearance).
● Serum Creatinine (Creatinine Cr): Mainly derived from the metabolic products of muscle activity in the body. Therefore, the concentration of serum creatinine is related to the total muscle mass or body weight of each individual and is not related to diet or water intake.
Therefore, compared to blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine is a better and more accurate indicator for assessing kidney function.
It should be noted that when the serum creatinine concentration is normal, it does not necessarily mean that kidney function is normal. It is best to supplement with a creatinine clearance test to accurately determine kidney function.
● Creatinine Clearance (Creatinine Clearance): Currently, it is a widely used and more accurate method for assessing kidney function in clinical practice. For the test, a 24-hour urine collection is required for accurate detection.
The normal creatinine clearance rate is about 80 to 120 mL per minute; a creatinine clearance rate of 50 to 70 mL per minute indicates mild kidney damage; a creatinine clearance rate of 30 to 50 mL per minute indicates moderate kidney damage; and a creatinine clearance rate of less than 30 mL per minute indicates severe kidney damage.
● Urine Specific Gravity and Osmolality: These two indicators reflect the kidney's ability to concentrate urine. Clinically, patients who frequently use analgesics may have abnormal concentration ability due to kidney damage.
● Urine Microalbumin (Microalbumin): Can assess early glomerular lesions, especially in patients with diabetes, hypertension, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and can be used as an indicator for diabetes control and follow-up. Since the excretion of albumin in the body varies slightly between day and night, the best specimen is the first morning urine or morning urine.
(The authors are a public medical technologist and the executive director of the AIDS Rights Promotion Association, respectively.)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090207/ 78/ 1e2by. html
How to Interpret Kidney Function Test Results?
By Wu Zhuohan and Yang Huizhong
Kidney function tests are one of the common health check-up items. However, what is the purpose of the test? And how should the test values be interpreted?
Kidney function tests primarily focus on urine screening. The advantages of urine tests are convenience and simplicity. Through urine tests, the severity of kidney function, diabetes, urinary tract bacterial infections, and other diseases can be assessed to achieve early detection of kidney diseases and prompt treatment.
◎ Indicators that can detect and assess kidney function:
● Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN): Mainly derived from the final product of protein metabolism. The normal range of blood urea nitrogen is 10 to 20 mg%. If it exceeds 20 mg%, it is called "high nitrogenemia."
Because blood urea nitrogen is easily affected by factors such as lack of water in the body, consumption of large amounts of high-protein foods, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, severe liver disease, infection, use of steroid drugs, and insufficient renal blood flow, leading to a temporary rise, although blood urea nitrogen can be used as an indicator of kidney function, it is not as accurate as serum creatinine (Creatinine Cr) and creatinine clearance (Creatinine Clearance).
● Serum Creatinine (Creatinine Cr): Mainly derived from the metabolic products of muscle activity in the body. Therefore, the concentration of serum creatinine is related to the total muscle mass or body weight of each individual and is not related to diet or water intake.
Therefore, compared to blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine is a better and more accurate indicator for assessing kidney function.
It should be noted that when the serum creatinine concentration is normal, it does not necessarily mean that kidney function is normal. It is best to supplement with a creatinine clearance test to accurately determine kidney function.
● Creatinine Clearance (Creatinine Clearance): Currently, it is a widely used and more accurate method for assessing kidney function in clinical practice. For the test, a 24-hour urine collection is required for accurate detection.
The normal creatinine clearance rate is about 80 to 120 mL per minute; a creatinine clearance rate of 50 to 70 mL per minute indicates mild kidney damage; a creatinine clearance rate of 30 to 50 mL per minute indicates moderate kidney damage; and a creatinine clearance rate of less than 30 mL per minute indicates severe kidney damage.
● Urine Specific Gravity and Osmolality: These two indicators reflect the kidney's ability to concentrate urine. Clinically, patients who frequently use analgesics may have abnormal concentration ability due to kidney damage.
● Urine Microalbumin (Microalbumin): Can assess early glomerular lesions, especially in patients with diabetes, hypertension, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and can be used as an indicator for diabetes control and follow-up. Since the excretion of albumin in the body varies slightly between day and night, the best specimen is the first morning urine or morning urine.
(The authors are a public medical technologist and the executive director of the AIDS Rights Promotion Association, respectively.)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090207/ 78/ 1e2by. html