Creatinine - serum

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Creatinine tests

Serum creatinine

A normal (usual) value is 0.8 to 1.4 mg/dl. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories.

Females have a lower creatinine than males, because they have less muscle mass.

Note: mg/dl = milligrams per deciliter

For abnormal results, the following applies:

Higher-than-normal levels may indicate:

• Acute tubular necrosis
• Dehydration
• Diabetic nephropathy
• Eclampsia (a condition of pregnancy that includes seizures)
• Glomerulonephritis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension)
• Pyelonephritis
• Reduced renal blood flow (shock, congestive heart failure)
• Renal failure
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Urinary tract obstruction

Lower-than-normal levels may indicate:

• Muscular dystrophy (late stage)
• Myasthenia gravis

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

• Acute nephritic syndrome
• Alport syndrome
• Atheroembolic renal disease
• Chronic renal failure
• Complicated UTI (pyelonephritis)
• Cushing's syndrome
• Dementia due to metabolic causes
• Dermatomyositis
• Digitalis toxicity
• Ectopic Cushing's syndrome
• End-stage renal disease
• Epilepsy
• Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
• Goodpasture's syndrome
• Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS)
• Hepatorenal syndrome
• Interstitial nephritis
• Lupus nephritis
• Malignant hypertension (arteriolar nephrosclerosis)
• Medullary cystic disease
• Membranoproliferative GN I
• Membranoproliferative GN II
• Type 2 diabetes
• Polymyositis (adult)
• Prerenal azotemia
• Primary amyloid
• Rapidly progressive (crescentic) glomerulonephritis
• Secondary systemic amyloid
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
• Wilms' tumor

Review Date: 02/03/2006
Reviewed By: Charles Silberberg, DO, Private Practice specializing in Nephrology, Affiliated with New York Medical College, Division of Nephrology, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.