A kidney function test comprises blood and urine tests that help assess kidney function, mainly their filtering units.

What Can a Kidney Function Test Tell You About Your Health?

Your kidneys aren’t just there to filter your blood and remove unwanted components. They play many integral functions, such as maintaining your blood pressure, maintaining mineral balance in your body, and helping with red blood cell production.

When your kidneys’ function declines, it often happens silently. Because symptoms aren’t usually noticeable at first, most people seek medical help only after the disease has progressed. That’s where kidney function tests in Dibrugarh can make a real difference. Let’s see what the test is and why it is useful.

What are the Kidney Function Tests For?

Kidney function tests aren’t a single test, but a group of urine and blood tests that help your urologist assess your overall kidney health. They mainly check the glomeruli, the tiny filters responsible for filtering waste substances and excess fluid from your blood.

Simply put, blood tests detect the buildup of waste substances in the blood that should normally be excreted through urine, such as creatinine. And urine tests check the presence of substances that shouldn’t generally be present in large amounts in urine, such as blood or excess protein.

Who Needs Kidney Function Tests?

Kidney function tests are used as a preventive tool to identify changes in kidney function before it significantly declines.

Your urologist may recommend these tests if you have existing medical conditions that make you more susceptible to kidney diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of kidney diseases, or autoimmune conditions.

It may also be needed if you experience symptoms that indicate a kidney problem, such as:

• Blood in urine
• Foamy urine
• Pain or burning sensation when urinating
• Swelling in the legs or other parts of the body
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite

Types of Kidney Function Tests

Here are the tests that your healthcare provider might order to assess your kidney function.

Serum Creatinine Test: Creatinine, a waste product released by your muscles, is filtered out of the blood and flushed out of your body through urine. When your blood test shows high creatinine levels, it can be a sign of compromised kidney function, but several harmless factors, such as your diet and muscle mass, can also affect your creatinine levels.

Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio (UACR): It’s a urine test that detects the level of albumin in your urine. Albumin is a protein that’s supposed to remain within your blood. Healthy kidneys prevent it from passing into urine. However, when the filters are damaged, the albumin can leak into your urine, thus being an early sign of poor kidney function.

Urinalysis: This urine test checks your urine for signs of infection, diabetes, and kidney diseases. It can be used to detect blood, protein, glucose, white blood cells, and other substances in your urine, giving vital clues about your urinary health.

24-Hour Urine Protein Test: This test requires collecting the urine you pass in 24 hours and sending it to the diagnostic center in Dibrugarh, where it’s examined for protein loss.

These tests together may provide a realistic picture of how your kidneys are working.