Why Do Renal Markers Use Creatinine?

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Renal markers are commonly run in the lab, as physicians use these values to gauge their patient’s renal function or dialysis efficacy. The most commonly used marker is serum creatinine, which can then be used to estimate the patient’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR). GFR is related to how well the kidneys filter the blood, and changes can indicate a diseased kidney. Treatment for renal diseases should start as soon as possible to preserve the remaining function of the kidneys. Therefore, to improve patient care, it is important to have a sensitive marker to detect small declines in GFR.
Although serum creatinine is a good indicator of GFR, it has several drawbacks. One disadvantage of using creatinine is that it is affected by the patient’s