Laboratory Medicine
Test Directory / Creatinine
Creatinine
Brown clotted serum, gel barrier or lithium heparin
| Test | Creatinine |
|---|---|
| Common Abbreviations | CREA, CREAT |
| Profile | Urea and Electrolytes |
| Tube type | Brown clotted serum, gel barrier or lithium heparin |
| Clinical Indication | Measurements of creatinine are used in the diagnosis and treatment of renal disease and are useful for the evaluation of glomerular function, calculation of eGFR and in monitoring renal dialysis. The serum level is not sensitive to early damage and responds more slowly than urea to haemodialysis however creatinine changes are used as the basis for Acute Kidney Injury AKI alerting. Creatinine is measured by an enzymatic method in the York and Scarborough laboratory. |
| Specimen Type | Blood |
| Sample type | Serum |
| Minimum Volume | 0.5mL If requesting more than 10 tests please send an additional brown clotted serum sample. |
| Special Precautions | No special requirements |
| Stability | 7 days at 2-25°C |
| Turnaround Time | Urgent: 2 hours Inpatient: 4 hours Outpatient/ GP: 24 hours |
| Laboratory | York and Scarborough |
| Reference Interval | Adult Females: 45-84 µmol/L, Adult Males: 59-104µmol/L, Neonates: 27-77 µmol/L, 1 month-1 year: 14-34 µmol/L, 1-3 years: 15-31µmol/L, 3- 5 years: 23-37µmol/L, 5-7 years: 25-42µmol/L, 7-9 years: 30-47µmol/L, 9-11 years: 29-56µmol/L, 11-13 years: 39-60µmol/L, 13-15 years: 40-68µmol/L (depends on muscle mass). New ranges as of 03/04/18. |
| Limitations | N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) when administered in therapeutic concentrations (for the treatment of paracetamol overdose) may lead to falsely low results. Calcium dobesilate, Methimazole, Dicynone, Rifampicin, Levodopa and Methyldopa can cause artificially low results. In very rare cases gammopathy, especially monoclonal IgM (Waldenströms macroglobulinemia), may cause unreliable results. Advise people not to eat any meat in the 12 hours before having a blood test for creatinine (ingestion of cooked meat causes transient increases in blood creatinine). |
| Notes |
