What are the Creatinine Lab Values?

Creatinine Lab Values Creatinine Lab Values

Creatinine Lab Values – Overview

A creatinine test is a blood test to check the functionality of the kidneys. A healthcare provider prescribes this test to determine the value of creatinine in the blood. Sometimes, creatinine is measured by a urine test.

However, in most cases, it is checked by a blood test only. Creatinine lab values will give you the best information about the normal lab values of creatinine, how the test is performed, and everything related to it.

What is Creatinine?

Creatinine is a waste product produced through muscle breakdown. Your doctor would prescribe this test to check how well your kidneys are working!

Human kidneys have millions of blood-filtering units. The blood filtering units are called nephrons in medical terms.

Nephrons have to filter blood throughout the day. Nephrons have a small cluster that is used to filter waste products produced from the organs.

All the toxins filtered from the nephrons are stored in the bladder. The waste products and toxins come out from the body through urination.

Creatinine waste product eliminates by the kidneys and it is then mixed with blood. A high level of creatinine means that your kidneys are damaged.

Usually, creatinine tests are prescribed along with a few other blood and urine tests as per the condition of the patient. A combination of blood tests is prescribed by your doctor to determine the disease or the recovery.

Why do I need a Creatinine Test?

Creatinine Lab Values

Creatinine Lab Values – Why do I need a Creatinine Test

There are some signs that your body shows up when you have kidney disease. Your doctor would first check for the symptoms and then prescribe a creatinine test to further diagnose the disease.

Your doctor would prescribe you this test if you are having these symptoms:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Fatigue
  • Swelling in the body parts
  • Urine output disturbed
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Lower back pain
  • Loss of appetite

How to Prepare for the Creatinine Test?

There is no special treatment required to get the creatinine test done. It doesn’t ask for any preparation, it is just like a normal blood test.

Unlike diabetes tests, you need not follow fasting, you can eat and drink whatever you want just like a normal day while going for the creatinine test. When you follow a regular diet, it will give you the perfect results.

Before you go for the test, you need to discuss any medications that you take. Some drugs may alter the value of creatinine in blood and for that reason, you should tell your doctor about the medicines that you regularly take.

You may ask not to take the medicine for a couple of days to get the right value of creatinine.

The following medicines can affect the creatinine test. If you are taking any of the below-listed medicines, then discuss the same with your doctor before you go for the test.

  • Cimetidine
  • Famotidine
  • Ranitidine
  • Antibiotics such as trimethoprim and cefoxitin

How does the Test Will Feel?

A small sample of blood is removed from your body by using a regular needle to perform the creatinine test. A healthcare provider would do his job perfectly by guiding you throughout the procedure.

The first thing you would be asked is to pull up your sleeves so that the blood vessel can be exposed. After that, he will tie a band around the arm area to stop the blood flow so that the blood vessels can be seen easily.

The area will be sterilized using an antiseptic before he inserts the needle into the veins. It will take a few seconds to collect the blood sample from your vein.

Once done, the band will be removed, and a bandage will be applied to stop the flow of the blood.

There are no risks involved while performing creatinine tests. However, in some cases, a patient might face…

  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Pain
  • Infection
  • Bruising
  • Soreness around the punctured area

Once your blood sample is collected, it will be sent to the laboratory for further analysis by a lab technician. The test results will be given to you after a few hours of testing.

What are the Normal Creatinine Lab Values?

The creatinine levels in men and women are different. In general, women have lower levels of creatinine than men.

Since creatinine waste product comes from muscle breakdown, the level of creatinine is lower in women because they don’t have muscle mass like men. Let’s find out the normal creatinine lab values:

Creatinine Lab Test Normal Creatinine Lab Values
Creatinine Value in Men 0.7 to 1.3 mg/dL
Creatinine Value in Women 0.6 to 1.1 mg/dL

The above-listed values of creatinine show up as the common measurements of creatinine. The normal lab values may slightly vary from laboratory to laboratory as they use different testing methods.

However, these are the normal creatinine lab values that most laboratories in the world follow.

How do You Define Abnormal Creatinine Results?

In some cases, the level of creatinine in the test results can be considered abnormal. If the test results show a higher value of creatinine than the normal values, then it might due to…

  • Kidney failure or damaged kidney
  • Reduced blood flow
  • Kidney infection
  • Muscle-related problems
  • Blockage in the urinary tract

If the test results show a lower creatinine value than the normal value then it might be due to…

  • Abnormal conditions of muscles and mass
  • Dietary problems

Besides this, the test result of the creatinine level in the blood could be affected due to diabetes, high blood pressure, an overdose of certain medicines, etc.

Your healthcare provider will give you the right information about the abnormal values of creatinine.

What’s next?

Once you get your creatinine test done and the results are out, the next thing you need to do is visit the clinic of your healthcare provider.

Since you already know the normal creatinine lab values, you can check the test results for yourself also.

If the lab values in the test results are abnormal, discuss them with your healthcare provider.

Your healthcare provider will guide you further and if required, he would prescribe you a few more lab tests to further diagnose the problem or the disease.

See Also

Grants for Laboratory Equipment

Medical Laboratory Technician Scholarship

Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers in the US

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