How to Kidney Checkup of Patient?

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How to Kidney Checkup of Patient? - Kidney checkup in patients should be done with careful, because the kidney is one of the vital organs in humans. Here's how to check kidney of patients:

1. Kidney checkup performed with the patient lying down.
2. Put your left hand behind the patient, parallel to costa 12, with your fingertips touching the corner costovertebra. Pick up and try to push forward kidneys.
3. Put your hands gently on the upper right quadrant, adjacent to and parallel to the lateral rectus muscle. Ask the patient to breathe deeply.
4. During the peak of inspiration, press your right hand deep into the upper right quadrant, under the arch of the costa, and try to "catch" the kidney between your hands.
5. Ask the patient to breathe and hold your breath. Slowly release the pressure of your right hand, and feel how the kidneys will return to the position at the time of expiration. If the kidney is palpable, specify its size and presence/absence of tenderness.
6. For examination of the left kidney, move to the left side of the patient. Use your right hand to hold and lift from the rear, and the left hand to touch the upper left quadrant. Make checks such as the examination of the right kidney. Normal left kidney rarely palpable.

Two Simple Tests To Check for Kidney Disease

More than 26 million Americans-one in nine adults-have kidney disease. Millions more are at increased risk for getting it, and most don't know it. Kidney disease can be found and treated early to prevent more serious kidney disease and other complications.

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) recommends two simple tests to check for kidney disease:

Urinalysis. A urinalysis is a test that checks a sample of your urine for the amount of protein, blood (red blood cells and white blood cells) and other things. Protein and red and white blood cells are not normally found in the urine, so having too much of any of these may mean kidney disease. Having protein in the urine is one of the earliest signs of kidney disease especially in people with diabetes. Several other tests can be done to check for protein in urine. One of the tests is called the protein to creatinine ratio. It is the most accurate way to measure protein in the urine. A value of 200 mg/gm or less per day is normal. A value higher than 200 mg/gm is too high. Another test, called the albumin to creatinine ratio, is good for people at increased risk for kidney disease — people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney failure. A value of less than 30 mg/gm per day is normal for the albumin to creatinine ratio; a value of 30 mg/gm per day or higher is high and may be a sign of early kidney disease. With either of these tests, you don't need to collect a 24-hour urine sample, which may be hard to collect. For more on albumin in the urine read on http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/albuminuria.cfm.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR). GFR is estimated from results of a serum (or blood)creatinine test. The GFR tells how well your kidneys are working to remove wastes from your blood. It is the best way to check kidney function. A serum (or blood) creatinine test alone should not be used to check kidney function. GFR is calculated using the serum creatinine and other factors such as age and gender. In the early stages of kidney disease GFR may be normal. A value of 60 or higher is normal (GFR decreases with age). A GFR number of less than 60 is low and may mean that you have kidney disease. Check with your doctor about having the GFR test. If you are at increased risk for kidney disease (have diabetes, high blood pressure, or family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney failure), you should find out if you have kidney disease. Ask your doctor about these two simple tests. They should be done at least once a year so that if you have early kidney disease, it can be treated right away. Early kidney disease can and should be treated to keep it from getting worse! To learn more about GFR read on http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/gfr.cfm.

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