What is Glomerular Filtration Test and Importance in Revealing Kidney Function

At MSU, the glomerular filtration rate test (GFR) was given to Myrna. It determines the ability and timing of how much blood passes through the tiny filters or glomeruli over a certain time frame. As kidney failure progress, the amount of fluid the kidney can process slows. As the filtering ability decreases, the kidneys can't filter out phosphorus, leading to a buildup in the blood. High phosphate levels can cause calcium and phosphorus to form deposits in the heart, lungs, joints and skin that affect organ functioning.  Blood draws were taken over a course of a few hours. Something is injected and traced via blood draws every 2 then 3 then 4 hrs post injection.  Those results will be known next week.  The GFR is the best test to determine kidney function, especially if the BUN and creatinine levels are always normal but kidney function is questionable. The reason is because the BUN and creatinine will not appear to be negative until about 70% of a loss of kidney function has occurred.  So, you can’t rely on blood work alone to tell you if the kidneys are functioning normally.