What is the significance of eGFR? – By Dr harold Gunatillake
Website: www.Doctorharold.com
Transcript:
It stands for-Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) Kidneys are vital for your body. Well-functioning kidneys remove waste and excess fluids from your blood, keep essential minerals in balance, help regulate blood pressure, and produce red blood cells and vitamin D. In other words, your kidneys make sure your body stays healthy and balanced.
Now let’s talk about what a glomerulus is. The kidney’s filtering unit’s glomerulus is a specialised bundle of capillaries uniquely situated between two resistance vessels. These capillaries are each contained within the Bowman’s capsule, and they are the only capillary beds in the body that are not surrounded by interstitial tissue. Your kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and extra water to make urine.
The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) shows how well the kidneys filter. An estimated 37 million adults in the United States may have chronic kidney disease (CKD), but nearly 90% are unaware of their condition. When found early, people can take the necessary steps to protect their kidneys.
In Sri Lanka alone, around 150,000 people have been affected by CKD/CKDu, with CKDu primarily in rural communities that have historically used groundwater as The function of the glomerulus is to filter the blood. their predominant drinking water source. A recent IWMI study finds that women may be more at risk of contracting the disease.
So, this is an important test every adult should get done yearly—especially for those who have diabetes, where chronic kidney disease is high. Test your urine for albumin to have a complete picture of your overall kidney health.
Is eGFR based on creatinine level in the blood?
Your eGFR is a measure of how well your kidneys are working. It is estimated based on your creatinine level, age, race, and whether you are a man or a woman. Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, has five stages based on eGFR. Healthy eGFR declines with age, even in people without kidney disease.
Most of these studies have been cross-sectional and have relatively uniformly shown that the GFR declines steadily with ageing, beginning at age 30–40 years, with an apparent acceleration in the rate of decline after period 65–70 years. people have an eGFR of 90 or higher.
Why does my eGFR keep going down?
If you eat well and exercise but do not maintain healthy blood sugar or blood pressure levels, your GFR may decline.
This reveals the importance of checking your blood pressure regularly and keeping it at the normal range.
Although a reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in older adults has been attributed to physiologic ageing, it may be associated with kidney disease The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is variable, and it relies on a blood test, which may have day-to-day variations, and it is an “estimation”. Hence, the more times you do the test, the more accurate the estimate will be. It can depend on the food that you eat. For instance, if you eat a large animal meat diet just before the test, the lab test will be a poorer estimate of the true eGFR.
What is creatinine?
Creatinine is a chemical compound left over from energy-producing processes in your muscles. Creatinine exits your body as a waste product in urine. Healthy kidneys filter creatinine out of the blood.
Most of the creatinine found in the body is a form of creatine, a natural chemical. Kidneys help maintain and filter out creatinine levels in the body. People following diets with high red meat or other protein sources, including dairy products, may have higher creatinine levels than people who eat fewer of those foods. If you eat lots of red meat, switch to more vegetable-based dishes.
Usually, a creatinine level of more than 1.2 for women and more than 1.4 for men may indicate that the kidneys are not working as they should. If your serum creatinine test results are higher than average, your doctor may want to run other tests. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR).Now, how can you keep your kidneys healthy?
Don’t Overdo Certain Medications
NSAIDs are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen and naproxen. They can damage your kidneys if you take too many at once or take them too often. And using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for an ulcer or GERD for a long time can raise your chances of chronic kidney disease. You should only take them if your doctor says you need them.
Take Care With Antibiotics
These bacteria-fighting drugs can damage your kidneys if you use them too often. It can happen even if you’re perfectly healthy, though it’s more severe if your kidneys don’t work as well as they should. Some types, like penicillin, sulfonamides, and cephalosporins, are more likely to cause problems.
Skip Herbal Supplements
Supplement makers don’t have to prove their products are safe; some can damage your kidneys. Those can be especially harmful if you have kidney disease because they can worsen the condition or affect how some medicines work. Talk with your doctor before trying any herbal supplement.
Eat Healthily
A healthy diet has lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and a few processed foods. Your kidneys process everything you eat or drink, including anything terrible for you, like lots of fat, salt, and sugar. Over time, a bad diet can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and other challenging kidney conditions.
Watch Your Salt
This mineral affects people in different ways. For some, it raises the amount of protein in their urine. That can harm your kidneys or worsen kidney disease if you already have it. Lots of salt also raises your chances of high blood pressure, a typical cause of kidney disease, and kidney stones, which can be very painful and possibly cause damage without treatment.
Drink Enough Water
Water helps get essential nutrients to your kidneys and moves waste to your bladder in urine. If you don’t drink enough, the tiny filters inside your kidneys can get stopped and lead to kidney stones and infections. Even mild dehydration can damage your kidneys if it happens often enough. Four to six cups a day is typically about right, but you might need more if you’re sick or out in the heat.
This presentation emphasises the importance of preserving your kidney functions by performing regular eGFR on a blood sample, especially if you have diabetes. These presentations are for ex-pat Sri Lankans worldwide, presented by me stationed in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Please stay safe and goodbye until we meet again.
