What is egfr

Healthy kidneys take creatinine out of your blood and send it out of your body through your urine. If your kidneys are not working the way they should, creatinine will build up in your blood. Your eGFR can change over time and can change based on some other problems, like if you have not been drinking enough water. As chronic kidney disease gets worse, your eGFR number will go down. If caught early, healthy life changes like following a kidney-friendly eating plan and getting enough exercise may help slow down the progression of CKD and how fast your eGFR changes.

Yes, your eGFR may still be in the normal range even if you have some signs of kidney damage, such as protein in your urine pee or physical damage to your kidneys. If you have protein in your urine, your doctor will check you again to make sure it is not caused by something else, like being dehydrated. Your doctor may have you fast not eat or drink or avoid certain foods for several hours before the test.

They will let you know how to prepare. You may have a blood creatinine test as part of a regular check-up or if your doctor thinks you might have kidney disease. A GFR below 60 may mean kidney disease. A GFR of 15 or lower may mean kidney failure. In adults, the normal eGFR number is more than See chart below for average estimated eGFR based on age. Skip to main content. Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate Your kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and extra water to make urine.

What to expect A health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle. After the test There are typically no restrictions after blood is drawn for the test.

What is a normal eGFR number? COVID patients can become kidney patients. Available here. Read the report. Skip to main content. The eGFR is most likely to be inaccurate in people at extremes of body type e. For an individual patient, however, serial values will be much more consistent than this just as creatinine values are — e. Race: There is increasing concern that the adjustment for ethnicity does not reflect the wide diversity within individuals of black ethnicity, with the adjustment based on outdated and unfounded biological assumptions for differences between ethnic groups at the expense of better understanding of social and ancestral determinants.

In the NICE chronic kidney disease CKD guideline the recommendation to adjust for ethnicity, present in the version, has been removed. Further evidence is needed and there is concern by professionals and patients that adjustment may be a source of inaccuracy and potential inequity.

Not so good near normal: The equations used for estimating eGFR tend to underestimate normal or near-normal function therefore slightly low values i.