Kidney failure diagnosis

Kidney failure diagnosis will help to maintain a suitable treatment strategy and to prevent further worsening of the patient's condition. The diagnostic process starts with examining previous medical records and consultation with a nephrologist (a doctor who cures kidneys) with a consecutive medical examination of the health status. After that, the doctor creates a list of necessary lab tests and other diagnostic procedures. Lab tests will help to measure the level of blood cells and other essential parameters in the patient's blood and urine (if kidneys still produce it). For example, low creatinine levels in urine and high creatine levels in the blood might indicate severe kidney damage and a decrease in the organs' ability to perform everyday tasks. During the diagnosis, doctors give a stage of kidney function loss that helps to select the proper treatment strategy. Inflammatory tests and urinalysis will help to exclude various inflammatory diseases (e. g. , pyelonephritis) that often might result in symptoms similar to kidney failure. Medical imaging methods like ultrasound or CT will help to get a closer view of the anatomy of kidneys and exclude any possible organic reasons for kidney failure. Finally, after confirming the diagnosis, the patient receives a list of further actions and recommendations.