5 Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease

Blood Creatinine Tests and Glomerular Filtration Rate

Early detection and treatment can often slow or stop chronic kidney disease. How well your treatment can achieve this goal depends on: * Your stage of chronic kidney disease when you start treatment. The earlier you start, the better you are likely to do. * How carefully you follow your treatment plan. Learn all you can about chronic kidney disease and its treatment, and make sure to follow all the steps of your treatment faithfully. * The cause of your kidney disease. Some kidney diseases are more difficult to control.

Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) is the best test to measure your level of kidney function and determine your stage of kidney disease. Your doctor can calculate it from the results of your blood creatinine test, your age, race, gender and other factors. The earlier kidney disease is detected, the better the chance of slowing or stopping its progression.

What happens if my test results show I may have chronic kidney disease?

Your doctor will want to pinpoint your diagnosis and check your kidney function to help plan your treatment. The doctor may want to calculate your Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), which is the best way to tell how much kidney function you have.

You do not need to have another test to know your GFR. Your doctor can calculate it from your blood creatinine, your age, race, gender and other factors. Your GFR tells your doctor your stage of kidney disease and helps the doctor plan your treatment.

The doctor may also perform an ultrasound or CT scan to get a picture of your kidneys and urinary tract. This tells your doctor whether your kidneys are too large or too small, whether you have a problem like a kidney stone or tumor and whether there are any problems in the structure of your kidneys and urinary tract.

Finally, she may perform a kidney biopsy, which is done in some cases to check for a specific type of kidney disease, see how much kidney damage has occurred and help plan treatment. To do a biopsy, the doctor removes small pieces of kidney tissue and looks at them under a microscope. Your doctor may also ask you to see a kidney specialist who will consult on your case and help manage your care.