Kidney Function Test Profile of 5, Clinic Visit – £60

Organ Performance. Are yours working well?

A Kidney exam is enough to investigate the health.

Some laboratories use a kidney function Blood test to determine whether they are working as they should. We discussed this with Dr. Linda Fezzardi, Head of the Chelsea Clinical Institute Analysis Laboratory.

Should we do the renal panel?

The renal panel includes a battery of tests useful for evaluating renal activity. These tests measure the quantity of various substances, including sugars, proteins, mineral salts and electrolytes.

Specifically, the exam included in the renal panel includes the measurement of:

• Glucose (which represents the main energy source of our body); proteins such as albumin (whose role in keeping fluids within the blood vessels and in the transport of hormones and vitamins is fundamental);
• Minerals such as phosphorus and calcium (the former essential for energy production, the latter essential for correct muscle, nervous system and heart activity);
• Electrolytes (important for maintaining acid-base balance but also for various body processes); waste products such as urea (released by the liver into the bloodstream and into the organ where it is filtered and eliminated through urine); and creatinine (waste product produced by muscles).
• Glomerular filtration rate: A value you should not underestimate

Another Kidney screening value to investigate that can be included within the renal function panel is the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), thanks to which you can estimate the amount of blood filtered by the glomeruli in the organ in a minute.

The glomerular filtration rate is a formula that also takes into account some characteristics of the patient who performs it, such as:

• Age
• Type
• Race
• Weight
• Height

Various diseases can cause renal failure:

• Urinary tract infections;
• Calculations;
• Malformations;
• Hereditary diseases;
• Glomerulonephritis (diseases of inflammatory origin which particularly affect the glomeruli, causing generalized swelling and issues in the urine);
• High pressure (more rarely);
• Diabetes (more rarely).
• In renal failure, the organ’s “cleaning and “process” work is damaged. Older people are generally more likely to develop it.

Renal failure damages the kidneys’ “cleaning” and “process” work. Older people are generally more likely to develop it.

The rules

In addition to monitoring the activity over time, to balance the onset of chronic diseases, it is suggested to adopt a healthy lifestyle by avoiding habits and behaviours such as:

• Sedentary lifestyle;
• Unregulated eating;
• Abuse of salt and tobacco;
• Prolonged drug intake.
• The extent of renal failure

Calculate the glomerular filtration rate to check the extent of renal failure. This allows one to estimate the leftover renal issues and follow their progress over time.

Based on the data, we divide further renal failure into different stages of severity:

In the early stages, you don’t feel any characteristic symptoms.

Only the blood values that specifically express renal function, i.e., creatinine, are altered. Subsequently, uric acid, calcium, phosphorus, bicarbonate, and parathyroid hormone levels are altered, and red cells are reduced.

Finally, in the advanced stage, the symptoms of anaemia increase, pressure values ​​rise, and it is necessary to take various drugs to correct the changes of all the issues so they can no longer function well.

If the situation worsens, i.e. when the glomerular filtration rate drops below 10 ml/min, cleaning with machines is likely.