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Kidney Tests
Summary
You have two kidneys. They are fist-sized organs on either side of your backbone above your waist. Your kidneys filter and clean your blood, taking out waste products and making urine. Kidney tests check to see how well your kidneys are working. They include blood, urine, and imaging tests.
Early kidney disease usually does not have signs or symptoms. Testing is the only way to know how your kidneys are doing. It is important for you to get checked for kidney disease if you have the key risk factors – diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney failure.
Specific kidney tests include:
- Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) – one of the most common blood tests to check for chronic kidney disease. It tells how well your kidneys are filtering.
- Creatinine blood and urine tests – check the levels of creatinine, a waste product that your kidneys remove from your blood
- Albumin urine test – checks for albumin, a protein that can pass into the urine if the kidneys are damaged
- Imaging tests, such as an ultrasound – provide pictures of the kidneys. The pictures help the health care provider see the size and shape of the kidneys, and check for anything unusual.
- Kidney biopsy – a procedure that involves taking a small piece of kidney tissue for examination with a microscope. It checks for the cause of kidney disease and how damaged your kidneys are.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Patient Handouts
- 24-hour urine protein Medical Encyclopedia
- Acid loading test (pH) Medical Encyclopedia
- Albumin blood (serum) test Medical Encyclopedia
- BUN – blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Glomerular filtration rate Medical Encyclopedia
- Kidney biopsy Medical Encyclopedia
- Microalbuminuria test Medical Encyclopedia
- Total protein Medical Encyclopedia
- Urine protein dipstick test Medical Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
- Abdominal CT scan Medical Encyclopedia
- Abdominal MRI scan Medical Encyclopedia
- Abdominal tap Medical Encyclopedia
- Amylase – urine Medical Encyclopedia
- Anti-glomerular basement membrane blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Basic metabolic panel Medical Encyclopedia
- Calcium – ionized Medical Encyclopedia
- Calcium – urine Medical Encyclopedia
- Calcium blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Chloride – urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- Citric acid urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- CO2 blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Fractional excretion of sodium Medical Encyclopedia
- Hemoglobinuria test Medical Encyclopedia
- Immunoelectrophoresis – urine Medical Encyclopedia
- Intravenous pyelogram Medical Encyclopedia
- Phosphorus blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Potassium urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- Protein electrophoresis – serum Medical Encyclopedia
- RBC urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- Renal arteriography Medical Encyclopedia
- Renal perfusion scintiscan Medical Encyclopedia
- Renal scan Medical Encyclopedia
- Renal venogram Medical Encyclopedia
- Sodium urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- TBG blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Urea nitrogen urine test Medical Encyclopedia
- Uric acid – blood Medical Encyclopedia
- Urinary casts Medical Encyclopedia
- Urine 24-hour volume Medical Encyclopedia
- Urine protein electrophoresis test Medical Encyclopedia
Specifics
- Abdominal Ultrasound Radiological Society of North America
- Albumin Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) National Library of Medicine
- BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) National Library of Medicine
- Calcium Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Calcium in Urine Test National Library of Medicine
- Chloride Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) National Library of Medicine
- Creatinine Test National Library of Medicine
- Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Fasting for a Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) Test National Library of Medicine
- Immunofixation (IFE) Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Intravenous Pyelogram (IVP) National Library of Medicine
- Kidney Biopsy National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Kidney Stone Analysis National Library of Medicine
- Magnesium Blood Test National Library of Medicine
- Phosphate in Blood National Library of Medicine
- Phosphate in Urine National Library of Medicine
- Total Protein and Albumin/Globulin (A/G) Ratio National Library of Medicine
- Urinalysis: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
Start Here
- Chronic Kidney Disease Tests and Diagnosis National Kidney Disease Education Program
- Kidney Testing: Everything You Need to Know Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Tests for Kidney Disease American Kidney Fund
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Kidney Function Tests National Institutes of Health