KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes)
Understanding KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes)
What is KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes)?
The KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test evaluates your kidney function, helps detect kidney disease, and monitors an ongoing treatment response for kidney or blood pressure problems. This test also measures the levels of electrolytes to check for the water and pH balance in the body.
The kidneys are vital in removing waste, toxins, and extra water from your body. They are responsible for maintaining a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals like chloride, sodium, and potassium. These minerals are also essential for blood pressure control, maintenance of the body’s pH balance, making red blood cell production hormones, and promoting bone health. Hence, keeping your kidneys healthy is essential for maintaining overall health.
The KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test helps with the early detection of kidney problems, such as kidney stones, kidney failure, or kidney infections. This early detection allows your doctor to plan the treatment timely and prevent future complications. This test also helps monitor any known kidney problems, track the recovery process if you are already getting treated for the same, and determine if you need dose adjustments of certain medicines you might be taking for other diseases. Your doctor may advise the KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test if you experience symptoms suggestive of kidney problems, such as frequent urination, bloody urine, muscle cramps, or sharp pain in your groin, or if you have kidney disease risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, or a family history of kidney disease.
Usually, no special preparation is required for the KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test; eat and drink as per your daily routine. Test result ranges are approximate and may differ slightly between labs depending on the methodology and laboratory guidelines. Talk to your doctor about your specific test results. Narrate your complete medical history to help them correlate your clinical and laboratory findings. The test results will help the doctor determine your medical condition, make recommendations for lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise, decide whether or not medication will be required to manage your kidney health and formulate your overall treatment plan.
What is KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) used for?
The KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test is done:
- As part of routine health checkups.
- To help detect any disease affecting the kidneys.
- To monitor the treatment response of kidney diseases.
- To check your body's water, electrolyte, and acid-base (pH) balance.
- To monitor patients who are receiving diuretic therapy, intravenous fluids, or are on dialysis.
- To monitor kidney function in people with diabetes and high blood pressure (BP).
What does KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) measure?
Contains 8 testsThe KFT with Electrolytes (Kidney Function Test with Electrolytes) test determines the health of your kidneys. It evaluates parameters such as creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride), blood urea and BUN/ creatinine ratio. This test also helps diagnose possible kidney disorders like inflammation, infection, or functional damage.
Serum Creatinine
The Serum Creatinine test measures the level of creatinine in the blood. Creatinine is a byproduct of muscles’ wear and tear during energy production. The kidneys remove it from the body by filtering it from the blood and releasing it into the urine. Therefore, blood creatinine levels indicate how well the kidneys are functioning in filtering and removing waste products from the blood. Generally, higher creatinine levels in the blood may indicate reduced kidney function, while lower levels may suggest decreased muscle mass.
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Uric Acid
An Uric Acid test determines the level of uric acid in your body. Uric acid is a nitrogenous compound produced by the metabolic breakdown of purine. Purines are present as nitrogenous bases in the DNA and are also found in food like red meat and seafood.
Most uric acid dissolves in the blood and goes into your kidneys. From there, it passes through your body via the urine. Decreased elimination of uric acid is often a result of impaired kidney function due to kidney disease. In many cases, the exact cause of excess uric acid is unknown. Doctors seldom need to test for low levels of uric acid.
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Blood Urea Nitrogen
The Blood Urea Nitrogen test measures the levels of urea nitrogen in the blood. Blood urea is a waste product that is formed in the liver when you eat food and the protein is metabolized into amino acids. This process leads to the production of ammonia that is further converted into urea. Both ammonia and urea are nitrogenous compounds. Your liver releases urea into the blood which is then carried out to the kidneys. In the kidneys, urea is filtered from the blood and flushed out of the body via urine. This is a continuous process, so a small amount of urea nitrogen always remains in the blood.
In the case of a kidney or liver disease, there is a change in the amount of urea present in the blood. If your liver produces urea in an increased amount or if there is any problem in kidney functioning, there might be difficulty in filtering out the waste products from the blood, which can result in increased urea levels in the blood.
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BUN/Creatinine Ratio
The BUN/Creatinine Ratio test helps compare the levels of blood urea nitrogen to that of creatinine in your body. Urea is a waste product that is formed in the liver when you eat protein, which is then metabolized into amino acids. This process leads to the production of ammonia that is further converted into urea. Later, the urea is passed out of your body through the urine. On the other hand, creatinine is a byproduct produced by muscles during energy production. Therefore, the more muscle you have, the more creatinine your body produces. The kidneys remove both the urea and creatinine via urine, and this test determines how well your kidneys are functioning.
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Blood Urea
The Blood Urea test measures the level of urea in the blood. Urea is a byproduct of protein metabolism. Proteins you consume in your diet are digested and converted into amino acids, which are then utilized by the body. This metabolic process produces a toxic byproduct known as ammonia. Ammonia is then rapidly converted into urea by your liver. Urea is comparatively less toxic than ammonia and is transported to the kidneys via the blood. The kidneys then filter it out through the urine. This process continues and the body keeps producing and eliminating urea, maintaining its low and steady levels in the blood.
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Sodium
The Sodium test measures the amount of sodium in your body. Sodium is present in all body fluids and is found in the highest concentration in the extracellular fluid. The body absorbs the required amount of sodium through dietary salts, and the kidneys eliminate the remaining sodium. The body keeps your blood sodium within a regular and steady range by following three mechanisms:
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By producing hormones that control the elimination of sodium through urine, such as natriuretic peptides and aldosterone.
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By producing hormones that prevent water loss, such as antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
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By controlling thirst (an increase in blood sodium level can make you thirsty and cause you to drink water, returning your sodium to normal).
These mechanisms regulate the amount of water and sodium in the body and control blood pressure by keeping the amount of water in check. When the sodium level in the blood changes, the water content in your body changes. These changes can be associated with dehydration, edema, and changes in blood pressure.
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Chloride
The Chloride test measures the amount of chloride in your body. Chloride is present in all body fluids and is found in the highest concentration in the blood and extracellular fluid (fluid present outside the cells). The body gets most of the chloride through dietary salt (sodium chloride or NaCl) and a small amount through other food items. The required amount of chloride is absorbed in the body and the excess amount is excreted by the kidneys through urine. When the chloride is combined with sodium it is mostly found in nature as salt. Chloride generally increases or decreases in direct relationship to sodium but may also change without any changes in sodium levels when there are problems with the body's pH. Usually, the normal blood chloride level remains steady with a slight fall after meals (because the stomach produces hydrochloric acid using chloride from the blood after we eat food).
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Potassium
The Potassium test measures the levels of potassium in your body. Potassium is one of the key electrolytes that helps in the functioning of the kidneys, heart, nerves, and muscles. It also balances the effect of sodium and helps keep your blood pressure normal. The body absorbs the required amount of potassium from the dietary sources and eliminates the remaining quantity through urine. Potassium level is typically maintained by the hormone aldosterone. Aldosterone acts on the nephrons present in the kidneys and activates the sodium-potassium pump that helps the body reabsorb sodium and excrete potassium. This aids in maintaining a regular and steady potassium level in the blood.
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