Should serum creatinine alone be used to estimate kidney function?
No. Serum creatinine alone is not the best way to detect early stage kidney disease. This is because a rise in blood creatinine levels is observed only after significant loss of functioning nephrons (which are the filters of the kidneys). A better way to measure kidney function is to estimate GFR. GFR can be estimated with equations that use serum creatinine levels and some or all of the following variables: gender, age, weight, and race.
