Kidney Testing: Everything You Need to Know

"If you have diabetes, you have a higher risk for chronic kidney disease. Your doctor will likely recommend you have one or more kidney tests to check the health of your kidneys. The sooner you know the health of your kidneys, the sooner you can take steps to protect them. Knowledge is power—learn about what these tests do and what your results could mean.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition in which the kidneys become damaged over time and cannot filter blood as well as they should. Diabetes is a leading cause of CKD, which often causes no symptoms until your kidneys are badly damaged.

The good news is that if you find and treat kidney disease early, you may be able to keep CKD from getting worse and prevent other health problems such as heart disease. But the only way to know how well your kidneys are working is to get tested.

If you have diabetes, you know how important it is to prevent complications like CKD. Your doctor will want to check your kidney health, usually by testing your urine and blood.

Urine Tests

One of the earliest signs of kidney disease is when protein leaks into your urine (called proteinuria). To check for protein in your urine, a doctor will order a urine test. There are two types of urine tests that can check your protein levels.

Dipstick urine test. This test is often done as part of an overall urinalysis, but it can also be done as a quick test to look for albumin (a protein produced by your liver) in your urine. It does not provide an exact measurement of albumin but does let your doctor know if your levels are normal. A dipstick (a chemically treated paper) is placed in a urine sample you provide and if levels are above normal, the dipstick changes color. If you have abnormal albumin levels, your doctor may want to run further tests.

Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR). This test measures the amount of albumin and compares it to the amount of creatinine (a waste product that comes from the normal wear and tear of muscles in the body) in your urine. A UACR test lets the doctor know how much albumin passes into your urine over a 24-hour period. A urine albumin test result of 30 or above may mean kidney disease.

It’s important to know that:

• The test may be repeated once or twice to confirm the results.
• If you do have kidney disease, the amount of albumin in your urine helps your doctor know which treatment is best for you.
• A urine albumin level that stays the same or goes down means that your treatment is working..."
  Kidney testing