Kidney Creatinine

Kidney function tests check how well the kidneys filter and transport waste materials from the blood into the urine.

Who is a candidate for the test?

Kidney function tests are usually ordered when a healthcare provider suspects a disease that may be affecting the kidneys. These tests are also used to monitor someone who already has kidney disease.

How is the test performed?

There are four major tests. Each test is described more fully in separate articles in this encyclopedia. They are:

 creatinine

 creatinine-urine

 creatinine clearance

 BUN

Creatinine and BUN are blood tests that measure metabolic breakdown products in the body. It is the role of the kidney to get these waste products into the urine. When the kidney does not work properly, these products are not put into the urine and the levels become elevated in the blood.

Urine creatinine measures the amount of creatinine that is excreted into the urine.

Creatinine clearance is a fairly precise way to estimate the exact amount of function a kidney has compared to normal. Any of these tests may be ordered to help measure kidney function. Which one is used often depends on the disease that is suspected.

Blood Tests and Urine Tests Will Help Diagnose Kidney

In addition to a full medical history, your doctor or urologist will begin the diagnostic process with a simple physical examination, (of the abdominal area – looking for the soreness that may indicate a kidney stone’s presence) and then move on to medical imaging techniques (intravenous pyelogram, ultrasound, X-rays, computed tomography) to determine the location and nature of the kidney stone and rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.

Your doctor or urologist will also assess your general kidney function and evaluate the concentration of certain electrolytes and dissolved substances in your blood. A thorough urinalysis may also be performed.

Imaging tests will also help determine whether or not the stone is obstructing your urinary tract. Blood and Urine tests will help establish the substance (struvite, calcium, cystine or uric acid) that the stone has developed from so that an appropriate treatment can be delivered and appropriate preventive measures (change of diet, medication, etc.) taken. If this is your first stone, your physician may delay a detailed diagnostic evaluation until the stone grows in size. If it isn’t the first time you’ve developed a stone, urine and blood tests may be used to determine whether or not the recurrence is the result of a metabolic anomaly.

Source: parkaveurology.com

Signs of having developed a kidney stone

It’s unlikely that you'll experience symptoms or see signs of having developed a kidney stone unless the kidney stone is large enough to cause a blockage, is passing or is responsible for a urinary tract infection.

If you’ve developed a kidney stone (renal lithiasis) that’s large enough to fall into the latter category, you may find yourself suffering from a sudden onset of a severe cramping pain in your lower back—below the edge of your ribcage, your groin, side, or abdomen. This pain is often so severe that it is not unheard of for it to be accompanied by nausea or vomiting and be further characterized by the fact that changing your body position will fail to relieve it. All four types of kidney stones (calcium, struvite, uric acid and cystine) may also cause blood to appear in your urine. If a urinary tract infection develops as a result of a stone, you may also experience a fever and chills.

However, any number of medical conditions other than kidney stones can cause symptoms similar to those listed above. So, your doctor or urologist will need to ask you a few questions to determine the precise nature of your pain and get a picture of your lifestyle. Your doctor will also need to perform a physical exam and may order X-rays or other imaging tests to get a better look at your kidneys or urinary tract.

If it turns out that you’ve developed more than one kidney stone or if you have a family history of kidney stones, additional testing may be called for. To find out which type of kidney stone you’ve developed--calcium, struvite, cystine, etc., your doctor may order blood tests and or ask that you collect your urine for a 24-hour period. Both tests will help your doctor determine the chance you’ll develop stones in the future.

Source: parkaveurology.com

Kidney stones: can they be treated?

Kidney stones treatment will depend on the stones size and the patient's condition. Relief from pain and ridding the body of the stones is the goal of the treatment. Kidney stones treatment depends on the size , type, and underlying cause . Usually, stones that are smaller than 4mm pass freely, while those larger than 5mm seldom pass naturally.

The first natural treatment you can try are herbal teas that can be found in health shops, herbal shops or via the internet. Look for meadowsweet, Joe-pye weed, sarsparillia and plantain in particular as these will help to eliminate the excess of uric acid that you may have in your body.

Fortunately, most stones can be treated without surgery. About 90 percent of all kidney stones can pass through the urinary system spontaneously with the help of plenty of water (two to three quarts a day) to help the stone move along. In addition to extra water consumption, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics to fight infection, pain relievers to help with the pain, an antispasmodic to relax the ureter muscles or diuretics to prevent urine from staying in the kidney. About 90 percent of all stones that leave the kidney will pass through the ureter within three to six weeks.

Source: americanchronicle.com

Do kidney stones hurt?

The patient of kidney stone faces is the pain during urination or the menstruation. This happens if the stone blocks the flow of the urine form the kidney to the urinary tract. This hurting can be very serious depending on the blockage that the stone proves to be for the urine. Similar thing happens during the menstruation. If it becomes very painful then there is a need of medication.

How can Diagnosis of kidney stones be confirmed?

Investigations for kidney stones

1. Radiography

Radiographs of kidneys, ureters and the bladder are taken.
When a renal calculus is branched, there is no doubt concerning the shadow it casts. X-rays usually confirms 90% of the renal stones except the pure uric acid stones.
When a stone is found, exposures are made during full inspiration and full expiration to see whether the stone moves slightly with the kidney during respiration.
This is essential to exclude other conditions which will show similar type of shadow.
A renal stone will be seen to super imposed on the bodies of the lumber vertebras.

2. Excretory pyelography

i. It is of value in confirming that the opacity is intra-renal.

ii. In determining in which part of the kidney the stone is situated and in revealing the function of the other kidney.

iii. If it has produced obstructive features or not.

iv. Presence of non-opaque stone which can be visualized by filling defect.

3. Cystoscopy

A urethral stricture or prostatic obstruction will be revealed by instrumental examinatio

Source: tandurust.com

Why do kidney stones occur more and more in young people?

There's a surprising and growing incidence of kidney stones in children. Kidney stones are comprised of minerals and acid salts that should be diluted in the urine. But when urine is too concentrated, these materials can crystallize and solidify, forming kidney stones. Passing these objects can be absolutely excruciating. The pain typically starts in the side or back below the ribs and then radiates to the lower abdomen and groin area.
Sometimes they don't pass by themselves and doctors use lithotripsy (high-energy shock waves) to fragment and disintegrate kidney stones. According to the Mayo Clinic web site, kidney stones are typically found most often in males between the ages of 20 and 70 -- with middle-aged men being at the highest risk, but the growing incidence of kidney stones in children is linked to the modern diet and lifestyle.
Bottom line: kids are growing up drinking too little water and too many sugar-filled drinks. In addition, youngsters who eat a fast-food diet are taking in high amounts of sodium -- and that's a well-known risk factor for the formation of kidney stones.
The sedentary lifestyle we're starting to see in the younger age group and the pediatric group is also a risk factor because we know that obesity increases the risk of forming kidney stones.

The main takeaway is to get your child to stay away from sugar filled drinks, sodas, colas and go to something natural like plain old water.

Source: naturalnews.com

What are the symptoms of gall stones?

As mentioned before, gallstones symptoms need not surface, if the stones are small enough. They pose a problem only when they are so large, that they obstruct the bile duct. The peculiar symptoms of gallstones include:
•Sharp pain in the upper abdomen, for about 30 minutes or more.
•Back pain between shoulder blades or under the right shoulder.
•Nausea or vomiting, particularly in severe cases.
•Yellowness of skin and white of the eye.
•Fever and chills.
•Clay colored stools.
The symptoms of gallstones are often termed as 'gallstones attack'. You may experience one or more symptoms, if you have gallstones.

Source: buzzle.com

What are gallstones?

Gallstones are a small pebble like things, found in the gallbladder and are made of bilirubin, cholesterol and other waste products. The size of these gallstones range from small particulate grains to 3-4 cm large stones. This is a common gallbladder disease, all over the world. Although, the condition may be asymptomatic in most cases, larger gallstones can definitely lead to severe symptoms. Gallstones is called a costly disease because the treatment is pretty expensive.

Gallstones form when there is an excess of bilirubin or cholesterol in the bile. The bile salts are insufficient to dissolve these substances. As a result, they go on accumulating in the bile duct and lead to formation of gallstones. If these gallstones are not removed on time, they can be painful for the person. This is a disorder that is more prevalent in women than in men. However, elderly men with obesity problem, are also prone to gallstones.

Source: buzzle.com

Gallstones: complications

Most people with gallstones never have a serious complication. However, if the gallstones are not treated, they can cause jaundice (a yellow discolouration of the skin and whites of the eyes), pancreatitis or infections in the gallbladder or bile duct in some people.

Some of the complications relating to gallstones include inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis), inflammation of the bile duct (cholangitis), inflammation of the pancreas (biliary pancreatitis), and obstruction of the intestine (gallstone ileus).

Source: mydr.com.au

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of Kidney stones

Symptoms that accompany them are pains in the back or abdomen, nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, finding blood in urine, sometimes the temperature and shaking. Diagnostics will be, in addition to the above-mentioned symptoms that indicate a possible existence of stones, based on tests such as ultrasound of kidneys and the abdomen, intravenous pielografy, X-ray of abdomen, and possibly tests such as CT of the abdomen. It will also determine the value of uric acid and calcium in serum and urine.

The treatment should recommend taking enough fluids, analgesics and spazmolite. Therapy will also be directed towards the kind of stones you have. In the case of uric stones alopurinol will be applied, in the case of struvite stones antibiotics. In cases where it is not possible to solve nefrolitiase by conservative methods surgery will be applied. Today it is mostly lithotripsy - breaking stones by ultra waves.

Milk and kidney stones

You may have heard somewhere that milk helps in the development of kidney stones. However, it is a myth, and scientific research does not confirm that correlation. In fact, the milk reduces the risk of stones! Diet with a lot of calcium reduces absorption of oxalates, substances present in some types of vegetables (spinach), but also in other food (tea and chocolate). Oxalates bounds with calcium and the calcium-oxalates are formed, that makes kidney stone.