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Kidney Function Tests - A Complete Overview

Kidneys play a vital role in maintaining proper health. They perform the essential function of removing waster material from the blood and regulating the level of water fluid in the body. In addition to these, they are also play a significant role in the production of Vitamin C, red blood cells and blood pressure regulating hormones.

If your physician thinks that your kidneys are not functioning properly, he/she may recommend you get a few tests done to help him/her diagnose the actual problem. You may also be advised to get kidney function test done in case of high blood pressure or diabetes which apparently can pose a serious threat to your kidney.

Symptoms of Kidney Problems:

-Notable symptoms include:-   

Blood in urine   

Frequent urine urges   

Painful urination   

High blood pressure   

Difficultly beginning urination   

Swelling of hands and feet because of fluid buildup in the body.

Types of Kidney functions

There are typically four types of kidney function tests which can be ordered by your physician on the basic of symptoms noted.

Urinalysis

Urinalysis basically checks for the presence of protein and blood in the urine. Though there can be several reasons behind the increased protein level in your urine such as physical work, etc. let alone the existence of infection. Your physician may either ask you to get one urinalysis or two with a gap of a week to see whether the results have changed or are similar.

It is also possible that your doctor may ask for 24-hour urine collection sample. This can help him/her to see how fast creatinine is clearing from your body.Serum Creatinine Test

Serum creatinine test is a kind of blood test that helps examine the creatinine built up rate in the body. Usually the kidney completely filters creatinine from the blood streams. But in case the test show retention rate, it means your kidneys are not functioning properly.

Blood Urea Nitrogen or BUNAs the name says, the Blood Urea Nitrogen Test or BUN Test checks the amount of nitrogen present in the blood. Bear in mind, not all exalted BUN tests are due to improper working of the kidneys. Medications such as high dosage of aspirin, etc can also be a cause of increased nitrogen level in blood. A normal BUN level ranges from 7 to 20. Higher or lower BUN level suggest a health problem.

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR)

The test, just like others mentioned above, maps the functionality of the kidneys. The test demonstrates the rate by examining factors such as   

Creatinine levels   

Age   

Gender   

Race   

Height   

WeightIt is essential to note that any result below 60 is a sign of warning for the patient as well as his/her doctor.

After examining the reports of kidney functionality tests, your physician will suggest a course of treatment to help your kidneys work aptly like before.

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