Understanding Serum Creatinine Levels & eGFR Staging: A Patient Guide
YMYL Compliance Notice: This article is authored and verified by a licensed nephrologist (RMC / NMC Reg. No: 34182). It adheres to clinical evidence and nephrology protocols (ISN/NKF guidelines). Information herein is for medical awareness and does not substitute direct clinical diagnosis.
Serum Creatinine is a breakdown product of creatine phosphate in muscle tissue. Because healthy kidneys filter creatinine out of blood continuously, blood levels serve as an indicator of kidney filtration efficiency.
Why Creatinine Alone Can Be Misleading
A muscular young male may have a normal creatinine of 1.2 mg/dL, whereas an elderly female with lower muscle mass might have an eGFR of 35 mL/min with the exact same 1.2 mg/dL level! This is why eGFR (CKD-EPI equation) is the clinical gold standard.
eGFR Staging Chart Overview
Stage 1: eGFR > 90 | Stage 2: eGFR 60-89 | Stage 3a: eGFR 45-59 | Stage 3b: eGFR 30-44 | Stage 4: eGFR 15-29 | Stage 5: eGFR < 15 mL/min.
Primary Medical References & Citations
- •CKD-EPI 2021 Equation for Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate
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