Laboratory tests are the easiest way to monitor your health status, timely detect somatic pathology and restore well-being. But in order to more consciously approach the survey questions, it is important to understand what the indicators mean on the results form.
In particular, it is useful for every person who is not indifferent to their own health to know what it is - a blood test for creatinine, in which cases it must be taken, which may indicate deviations from the norm.
Creatinine - what is it?
Creatinine is a substance that is produced in the blood by the liver during protein breakdown. Thus, it is the end product of the breakdown of proteins that enter the body through food.
To find the answer to the question of what does it mean - a blood test for creatinine, it is important to understand what has a direct effect on its amount in the blood. The amount of creatinine is regulated by the kidneys, which excrete excess substances with urine, ensuring the maintenance of homeostasis in the body. In the event that the kidneys for various reasons can not cope with the work, the concentration of creatinine begins to increase, and the well-being of the person begins to deteriorate.
Creatinine rate
A normal creatinine score depends on many factors: age, gender, nutrition, and even muscle mass. In men, as a rule, creatinine is on average higher than in women, as in people who regularly receive significant physical activity or consume large amounts of protein food.
There are medical standards that determine the pathology or its absence in the body. With normal functioning of the body, creatinine analysis shows the following values:
- Children under the age of 1 year: 18-35 μmol / L.
- Children under 14 years: 27-62 μmol / L.
- Women over 14 years old: 53-97 μmol / L.
- Men over 14 years old: 62-115 μmol / L.
These values may vary slightly depending on the laboratory that conducts the study. But as a rule, these indicators are universal for most biochemical tests.
Creatinine increased
In a situation where the analysis for creatinine shows values that differ from normal values, it is not always possible to assume the presence of pathology. Sometimes an increase in the concentration of creatinine in the blood is a natural reaction of the body to a particular external stimulus. As soon as the effect of the provoking factor ceases, the level of the indicator automatically stabilizes.
These factors include:
- dehydration;
- the abundance of protein foods in the diet;
- muscle damage.
How to understand whether pathology is the cause of an increase in creatinine level or not? As a rule, the doctor can not say about the presence of a certain pathology according to one analysis. Creatinine is given again, and if the increase is fixed again, a detailed examination is prescribed to the patient to identify the root cause of the violation.
With pathology, a significant deviation of the indicator from the norm is often observed, for example, by 2-3 times.
Creatinine lowered
Considering the reasons for the change in creatinine levels, which are not signs of pathology, it is also worth considering situations where the analysis for creatinine shows lower rates, which are not signs of the disease.
The main reason for the reduced rate is malnutrition. First of all, we are talking about starvation, for example, in the framework of weight loss. In this case, the body does not receive the required amount of protein, therefore, the production of creatinine by the liver is also reduced.
A similar situation arises if a person follows a vegetarian or vegan diet, that is, refuses meat dishes in favor of plant foods. Thus, finding among the results of a blood test a reduced level of creatinine, the doctor will definitely find out the patient’s diet. In the event that the patient’s menu can cause a deviation in the indicator, he will be recommended to consume more protein foods and retake the analysis again after some time.
A creatinine test may show a reduced amount of a substance in the blood during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, as well as while taking corticosteroid hormones.
Creatinine and Pathology
The most common pathology that is detected with increased creatinine in the blood is a decrease in the filtration capacity of the kidneys. This occurs with renal failure: acute or chronic.
The danger of chronic renal failure is the difficulty of diagnosing pathology at any stage, except for the terminal - incurable. Normally, creatinine is excreted in the urine, and an insignificant concentration of the substance remains in the blood. But as the kidneys begin to lose their ability to concentrate and remove urine from the body, the amount of creatinine in the body increases. This leads to intoxication of the body, therefore, when a blood test for urea and creatinine shows high values, a person experiences severe nausea, weakness, and headache.
The level of the indicator can change under the influence of various negative external factors. For example, against the background of radiation sickness, which is a consequence of exposure to ionizing radiation. Less commonly, creatinine is increased in the analysis due to hyperthyroidism, a disease in which the thyroid gland produces an increased number of hormones.
In each individual case, the doctor considers not only the fact of a change in the level of creatinine in the blood, but also other indicators, as well as the symptoms that the patient complains about.
When and who needs to be tested?
Analysis for urea and creatinine is included in the list of mandatory laboratory tests that each person must take for preventive, prophylactic purposes at least once a year. Also, a reason for a visit to the doctor with subsequent blood donation is the symptoms of diseases that affect the concentration of creatinine in the blood:
- nausea;
- weakness;
- tremor;
- muscle pain
- swelling;
- change in body weight with a normal diet.
The clinical picture allows the doctor to prescribe a more accurate list of studies that will allow you to quickly and accurately make a diagnosis.
How to change the results of the study?
The norm of analysis of creatinine in the blood is achieved only if the causes of its change are eliminated. So, elevated as a result of chronic renal failure is normalized with glucocorticosteroid therapy, hemodialysis, or kidney transplantation.
If the reason for the increase or decrease in creatinine is not a pathology, it is enough to simply normalize the diet, the amount of fluid used and the level of physical activity.
In some cases, when the creatinine level is significantly different from the norm, for example, exceeds it several times and has a direct effect on the patient’s well-being, hemodialysis procedure can be used, which restores the blood composition by sweeping it through the filter of a special device.
Understanding what creatinine analysis means, everyone who is interested in the quality of their life will certainly recognize the importance of regular diagnostics to detect pathology at an early and, most likely, treatable stage.
Study preparation
Laboratory blood tests for creatinine and urea do not require prior preparation. A biochemical analysis is usually given on an empty stomach, with the last meal taken no later than 8 hours before the time of blood sampling.
In order for the result of the study to be more reliable, it is not recommended on the eve to consume a large amount of protein food and sit on a strict diet, as well as engage in grueling physical activity.
Additional research
After a laboratory study showed a change in creatinine levels, the doctor prescribes an additional study to eliminate the risk of an erroneous result. At this stage, he must explain to the patient the rules for passing the analysis, to find out his anamnesis and lifestyle.
If, during a second analysis, the result of an indicator that goes beyond the norm is confirmed, it is necessary to conduct an additional study that will show which organ malfunction affects the level of creatinine: kidney, thyroid, pituitary gland.
To do this, the following studies are carried out (see table).
Laboratory tests | Functional research |
Complete urinalysis | Ultrasound of the kidneys |
Blood and urine tests according to Reberg | Thyroid ultrasound |
Zimnitsky test | CT or MRI of the brain (pituitary gland) |
Blood test for hormones TTG, T3, T4 | X-ray of the kidneys with contrast |
Clinical blood test | Excretory urography |
Myelogram | Nephrobiopsy and Thyroid Biopsy |
The therapist identifies the likely causes of a change in the biochemical composition of the blood, and then directs the patient to a specialist: an endocrinologist, hematologist or nephrologist.
Thus, every person who is attentive to their health should know why it is important to regularly take a blood test for creatinine, what it is, which indicators are normal, and which indicate the likely presence of a pathological process.