What does high creatinine level mean
In the examination for patient with kidney disease, we often hear about the test of creatinine level. Thereby, many people may have this curiosity: what is the meaning of creatinine level?
Creatinine is the metabolic production of muscles, and the creatinine in our body includes the part which is produced by the muscles of ourselves and the other part that is decomposed by the meat we take in our diet. Creatinine is small molecular substances, which can get through the glomerular filtration membrane be discharged successfully through our kidneys. Therefore, creatinine level in blood is always kept in a stable range.
The creatinine levels in man and woman are different. The normal level in blood in man is 60~110umol/L (0.7~1.2mg/dL), and the normal level in women is 45~90umol/L (0.5~1.0mg/dL).
What can we know from the creatinine level?
Creatinine is often used to know patient’s kidney condition. However, the result is not very accurate in the early stage of kidney disease. Because kidney has strong compensatory function, there is not any change in the creatinine level until more than half of kidney function has been damaged. Therefore, if patient’s creatinine level is higher than normal value, it means patient’s kidneys have been damaged severely. What’s more, the creatinine level would not be very high until patient’s glomerular filtration rate has dropped to one third of normal value. It is to say that patient may be in a severe condition even the creatinine level looking OK.
What is the creatinine level for dialysis?
The creatinine level in patient with kidney failure is usually much higher than it in common people. Generally speaking, patient whose creatinine level is more than 500umol/L should consider taking dialysis, but it is also decided by individual condition. Some patients may not need dialysis until his creatinine level is more than 1000umol/L.
In the end, it is worth mentioning that once patients begin to have dialysis, they will need to take it regularly. If they stop this, their creatinine level will be higher than it was, and they may die in one to four weeks. Besides, long-term dialysis will make the kidney function worsen, until it turns into necrosis.
