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The screening tests that can help catch chronic kidney disease
Chronic kidney disease is treatable when caught early. Simple screening tests can help detect it. Here’s what you need to know.
Healthy kidneys are important because they filter waste from the body. If they don’t work optimally, waste can build up in the body, making you sick. That's what can happen with chronic kidney disease.
But catching kidney problems early can prevent more serious illness later. That's where screening comes in. By doing simple blood and urine tests to test for chronic kidney disease (CKD), health care providers can determine if your kidneys are working well.
Why it’s so important? In its earliest stages, chronic kidney disease has no symptoms — so it’s easy to miss. About 37 million Americans have been diagnosed with CKD. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that as many as 9 in 10 adults with CKD may not know that they have it.
Here’s what happens during a CKD screening — and why making an appointment to get yourself tested is the right next step. (To book an appointment for screening with an in-home health clinician, call 877-302-3672877-302-3672 or schedule online. Have your health plan's member ID card handy.)
What does a chronic kidney disease screening look for?
The CKD screening process can involve several different tests. However, your health care provider will likely start with two vital screenings: an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) test and an albumin test.
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eGFR is one of the most critical kidney screenings. This blood test explains how well the kidneys are filtering in general. A high GFR is best. You want your kidneys to be filtering out as much waste as possible.
- A GFR of less than 60 for three or more months is considered to be kidney disease.
- A GFR between 60 and 89 is considered early-stage kidney disease.
- A normal GFR is between 90 and 120.
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Albumin is a protein found in the blood. Healthy kidneys ensure that this protein stays in the blood. Kidneys that aren’t working properly allow this protein to leak into the urine. A urine test, called a urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) test, can screen for this.
- High albumin levels in the urine — any numbers higher than 30 mg/g — may be an early sign of kidney disease.
A CKD diagnosis is often made using both the GFR and uACR numbers. If these tests suggest possible kidney disease, your health care provider may order additional tests before making a diagnosis.
These include:
- An ultrasound, which uses sound waves to look at the kidneys.
- A CT scan, which uses X-rays to get a clear picture of the kidneys.
- An MRI, which uses radio waves and magnetic fields to look at the kidneys.
- A biopsy, which involves removing a tiny sample of the kidney to examine it more closely.
Who’s a candidate for screening?
Health care providers usually consider risk factors to determine if you’re a candidate for screening.
People with diabetes and high blood pressure may be at higher risk of CKD. In fact, according to the National Kidney Foundation, two-thirds of CKD cases are caused by these two chronic conditions.
These conditions can cause a decrease in kidney function, says Jennifer Payton, MHCA, BSN, RN, CNN, president of the American Nephrology Nurses Association. High blood sugar can cause damage to the kidneys, and high blood pressure can damage the walls of blood vessels throughout the body, including in the kidneys and the heart.
Simple aging is another risk factor. “As we age, there is a normal decrease in glomerular filtration rate, or GFR,” Payton says.
Being an older adult, with or without high blood pressure or diabetes, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically develop CKD. But you may be at higher risk, why it’s important to get tested if you’re 60 or older.
What happens during a screening?
Most of the time, CKD is diagnosed with blood and urine tests. That means getting a CKD screening is like many other routine labs and screening tests. These tests are often ordered in an outpatient setting — either in doctor’s office or at home during an in-home visit with a health care provider. (To schedule an in-home visit, call 877-302-3672877-302-3672 or book online.)
For the blood test, you don’t usually need to fast, but be sure to check with your health care provider. They may want to order additional blood tests that require you to fast.
If you’re screened at home, the test is usually done with a simple finger prick.
For the urine test, a health care professional will provide you with instructions and a specimen cup to pee into. Be sure to drink a lot of water before your appointment so you can give a good sample.
These blood and/or urine samples will then be sent to the lab for analysis. Your health care provider will contact you when the results are in.
Post-screening follow up
Outpatient labs usually take a day or so to determine results. If your screening was done during an in-home visit, lab results will be sent to both you and your doctor.
If your doctor wants you to have another type of test, such as an imaging test or a biopsy, they will help you make a separate appointment for that testing.
Talk to your health care provider about getting screened for kidney disease. It’s just another important step in keeping you healthy for the long term.
Sources:
Chronic kidney disease: National Kidney Foundation
CKD in the United States: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Know your kidney numbers: National Kidney Foundation
Estimated glomerular filtration rate: National Kidney Foundation
Urine albumin-creatinine ratio: National Kidney Foundation
Kidney tests: National Kidney Foundation
Aging and kidney disease: National Kidney Foundation
