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Creatinine Overview


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Overview

Creatinine is the most important marker for renal function, because it is steadily produced in the muscles and excreted via the kidneys in the urine. Renal insufficiency will cause a rise in serum creatinine levels because it is not excreted in the normal quantities and accumulates in the blood. The determination of creatinine concentration in the blood allows a rapid evaluation of glomerular filtration rate under the following conditions:

Normal muscle mass and normal diet
Constant creatinine metabolism (steady state of creatinine production and elimination)
Glomerular filtration rate is reduced to 40 - 60 ml/min/1.73 m²

Creatinine clearance

Otherwise, the glomerular filtration rate can be determined by creatinine clearance, which is a more sensitive test for renal function and allows a more precise and earlier evaluation of renal damage. It is easily feasible in routine practice in order to monitor the progress of renal disease. Creatinine clearance means to measure the amount of plasma which is cleaned of creatinine. The calculation is as follows:

Creatinine clearance =
Urine concentration of creatinine x 24 hour-volume of urine in ml /
Serum concentration of creatinine x 1440 (24 hr x 60 min)

Using Reflotron® Creatinine with Reflotron® Plus or Reflotron® sprint the parameter can easily be determined within minutes in the primary care setting. These instruments provide reliable values by using whole blood, serum, plasma resp. urine. Reflotron® calculates creatinine clearance with the integrated software.



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