What is creatinine?

Creatinine is a metabolic waste produced by muscle. Creatinine is the most widely known index to judge renal function, but it is not very sensitive. If our renal function declines slightly, this indicator is often normal. Only when our renal function decreased from 1/3 to 1/2, serum creatinine began to increase, which could not help us to find the abnormality of renal function early.

Therefore, many of our patients think that their renal function is normal when they see that the serum creatinine is within the normal range during physical examination. In fact, if our blood creatinine value has reached the upper limit of normal, especially the urine test is also problematic, then the urine test is also abnormal. At this time, it has actually suggested that our kidneys may have obvious damage. Therefore, special attention should be paid to this situation.

However, in some patients with very strong muscles, a slight increase in serum creatinine does not mean abnormal renal function. At this time, you can go to a professional nephrology department for further examination, except for kidney diseases. And some elderly people with particularly thin muscles should be vigilant if serum creatinine is significantly increased.