Acute Kidney Failure Health Center

Diagnosis of acute kidney failure may come by the patient seeking medical attention following a trauma or injury to the kidney area. This sudden trauma is known as acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI is the sudden and temporary loss of kidney function. 

Additional and scientific diagnosis is available by your doctor or health care professional. A diagnosis can be determined by testing the blood chemistry through the taking of a patient's blood sample. An ultrasound and CT scan can also be used to see the kidney in greater detail to decipher the damage.

A blood pressure measurement can also aid your doctor in finding more about your kidney health. A normal and healthy individual would have a blood pressure reading of 120/80 or below. Microalbuminuria is an additional test which detects the presence of a protein within the blood known as albumin. Microalbuminuria can tell if small amounts of albumin leak into the urine which indicates deteriorating kidney function. A urine sample will be taken for this test and your doctor map use a dipstick to test for the presence or absence of these proteins.

A more specific and sensitive test for this protein albumin in the urine uses laboratory measurement and calculation of the protein-to-creatinine or albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Creatinine is another waste product in the blood created by the normal and usual breakdown of muscle cells during activity. Healthy kidneys take creatinine out of the blood and put it into the urine to promptly leave the body. However, when the kidneys are damaged or not working properly, this waste builds up in the blood.

Your doctor may also use a GFR or glomerular filtration rate to determine how efficiently the kidneys are filtering wastes from the blood. A traditional GFR calculation requires an injection into the bloodstream of a substance that is later measured in a 24-hour urine collection. An individual's blood urea nitrogen level can also aid doctors in making a diagnosis. Blood carries proteins to cells throughout the entire body, after the cells use the protein the remaining waste product is returned to the blood as urea, a compound containing nitrogen. Healthy and fully functional kidneys take urea out of the blood and put it into the urine. However, with kidneys not working properly, the urea will stay in the blood. A deciliter of normal blood contains 7-20 milligrams or urea. If a person's blood urea nitrogen level is more than 20 mg/dL, the kidneys may not be working at full strength.
 

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Review Date: 
August 20, 2012
Last Updated:
June 2, 2014
Source:
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