Muscle cramps, numbness in the hands and legs, pain in the flank region, decreased urine output, burning sensation during urination, the appearance of urine may be red or brown, frequent urination especially at night, puffiness around face, wrist, and ankles, nausea and high blood pressure, etc could be reflected as clinical manifestations due to kidney-related diseases. Low levels of BUN can be due to some normal physiological changes during pregnancy (second and third trimester of pregnancy which is reverted back to normal after childbirth), malnutrition –low protein diet, anemia, and certain pathological conditions like diseases associated to liver and kidneys. Elevated levels of BUN levels can be due to usually common causes such as high protein diet, medications (amphotericin B, carbamazepine, cephalosporin, furosemide, methotrexate, methyldopa, rifampin, spironolactone, tetracycline, penicillin, steroids, vancomycin, sulfonamides, NSAIDS – ibuprofen, naproxen, proton pump inhibitors to treat gastric ulcers and/or GERD, etc), aging, high fat diet, high salt intake, sedentary life, over-hydration, stress, smoking, alcoholics and in pathologies like urinary tract obstruction, kidney stones, dehydration, shock, burn injuries, GI bleeding, etc. This blood urea is also known as urea nitrogen is filtered out by kidneys from blood and thus eliminated from the body in the urine. Urea is a metabolic end-product formed by the catabolism of proteins. BUN urea measures the amount of urea in the sample of blood. Blood urea nitrogen levels and BUN - Creatinine ratio helps as a screening, diagnostic tool test that may also be prescribed during medical check-ups to screen as it provides insight into various multiple bodily symptoms as seen in some potential kidney conditions, liver diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular-related disorders – congestive heart failure and in the prognosis of dialysis to monitor the current kidney function (to improve treatment modalities to prevent further damage of kidneys). Various tests are performed to assess the health of the kidneys like blood urea, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), creatinine clearance, urine proteins, urine micro-albumin, serum electrolytes, complete blood count, etc. Kidneys are vital organs performing various functions such as maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance, controlling blood pressure, eliminating metabolic end products, maintaining healthy bones, and maintaining normal RBC levels in the body. Thus BUN test is included as a part of the basic metabolic panel (BMP) or comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP). In pathological conditions the BUN–Creatinine ratio is altered. Sometimes BUN test is also interpreted along with creatinine to assess kidney function as BUN–to–Creatinine ratio (BUN: Creatinine). BLOOD UREA NITROGEN (BUN) – CREATININE RATIO:īUN - Creatinine ratio helps to provide an insight about kidney functions and hence this test may be used for diagnosis, screening, or/and monitoring (prognosis).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |