What are the Stages of Kidney Failure

2014-05-11 06:03

Kidney failure is the assessment of kidney function, and the chronic kidney failure is the result of all kinds of chronic kidney disease when the kidney function worsen severely, which mainly refers to the gradually reduced kidney function. In general, kidney failure can be divided into 4 stages, which can be divided depending on the GFR, BUN and serum creatinine level.

First, let us know what the definition of GFR, BUN and serum creatinine.

GFR, which is shorted for glomerular filtration rate, is an indicator of kidney function. As we know, kidneys have the function of filtering toxins and wastes in blood, and this function is mainly worked by glomeruli. So GFR can measure the filtration yeild of blood every minutes in 1.73 m2. For kidney failure patients, their reduced kidney function is mainly because of the damage of glomeruli, and the GFR will also reduce when the glomeruli are damaged.

BUN is shorted for blood urea nitrogen, and urea nitrogen is the waste product of protein in blood, which is mainly excreted by kidneys. When the kidneys are damaged, the urea nitrogen will build up in blood which will cause the increase of BUN level for kidney failure patients.

Serum creatinine means the creatinine level in blood, and it is the waste product of muscle metabolism, which is also mainly excreted by kidneys. When the kidneys are damaged severely and kidney function is less than 50%, the creatinine level in blood will be higher than the normal level.

What are the stages of kidney failure?

Kidney failure can be divided into 4 stages depending on the GFR, which are as follows:

Stage 1 : Renal compensatory period

In this stage, the GFR is more than 50 ml/min/1.73 m2, BUN is less than 9 mmol/L, serum creatinine level is less than 178 umol/L. In this stage, people will have no severe symptoms except the symptoms caused by protopathy.

Stage 2: Renal decompensation period

In this stage, the GFR is between 25-50 ml/min, BUN is 9-20 mmol/L, serum creatinine is 178-445 umol/L, and people will suffer from some symptoms such as fatigue, mild anemia, frequent urination at night, etc.

Stage 3: Renal failure stage

In this stage, the GFR is 10-25ml/min, BUN is 20-28 mmol/L, serum level is 451-707 umol/L, and people will suffer from some severe symptoms, such as anemia, low calcium, high phosphorus, low sodium in blood, metabolic acidosis, etc.

Stage 4: Uremic Syndrome

In this stage, the GFR is less than 10 ml/min, BUN is more than 28.6 mmol/L, serum level is more than 707 umol/L. And people will suffer from some severe symptoms which are mainly caused by too much toxins and wastes building up in blood.

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