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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
03:19
Point-of-Care Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: June 21, 2024
[Occult renal failure in primary care. A women's problem?]
P J Labrador1, T Mengotti, M Jiménez
1Unidad de Nefrologia y Servicio de Analisis Clinicos, Hospital Virgen del Puerto, Caceres, Espana. pjlabrador@yahoo.es
Summary
Many primary care patients have undiagnosed chronic renal failure, with normal creatinine levels. Routine glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation is crucial for detecting this "occult" renal failure.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Public Health
- Primary Care Medicine
Context:
- Chronic renal failure is a growing public health concern.
- Accurate estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is vital for identifying patients with impaired kidney function.
- Primary care settings manage a significant patient population where early detection of renal issues is critical.
Purpose:
- To determine the prevalence of "occult" renal failure in patients managed in primary care.
- To identify patients with a GFR below 60 mL/min/1.73m² but with normal serum creatinine levels.
- To highlight the importance of GFR estimation in primary care for diagnosing renal impairment.
Summary:
- The study estimated GFR in 13,784 primary care patients using the MDRD-4 equation.
- A significant proportion (6.96%) had a GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m².
- Among these, 43.5% had normal serum creatinine levels, indicating "occult" renal failure.
Impact:
- Renal impairment is more prevalent in primary care than often recognized.
- A substantial number of patients with renal failure may be missed due to normal creatinine levels.
- Systematic GFR estimation using formulas like MDRD is essential for effective detection and management of "occult" renal failure in primary care settings.
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