Serum Creatinine can be a deceptive surrogate during an acute kidney injury. It may lag behind acute onset renal failure and misrepresent the current degree of renal impairment.
RULE OF THUMB: During an AKI, a creatinine rise of 1-1.5mg/dL (88.4-132.6umol/L) per day is considered an anephric rise. It is the average expected rise in a person with a GFR of 0mL/minute.
Example: Cr rise of 1mg/dL to 2mg/dL is considered an “anephric rise”.
REFERENCES
- Chen, S. Retooling the Creatinine Clearance Equation to Estimate Kinetic GFR when the Plasma Creatinine Is Changing Acutely. JASN Jun 2013, 24 (6) 877-888; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2012070653
- Appendix C: Tables, conversions and abbreviations. Nephrol Dial Transplant (2004) 19 [Suppl 2]: ii42–ii43DOI: 10.1093/ndt/gfh1030