Question: How to diagnose IgA Nephropathy ?
Answer: A health care provider diagnoses kidney disease with - a medical and family history - a physical exam - urine tests - a blood test Medical and Family History Taking a medical and family history may help a health care provider diagnose kidney disease. Physical Exam A physical exam may help diagnose kidney disease. During a physical exam, a health care provider usually - measures the patients blood pressure - examines the patients body for swelling Urine Tests Dipstick test for albumin and blood. A dipstick test performed on a urine sample can detect the presence of albumin and blood. The patient provides a urine sample in a special container in a health care providers office or a commercial facility. A nurse or technician can test the sample in the same location, or he or she can send it to a lab for analysis. The test involves placing a strip of chemically treated paper, called a dipstick, into the patients urine sample. Patches on the dipstick change color when albumin or blood is present in urine. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio. A health care provider uses this measurement, which compares the amount of albumin with the amount of creatinine in a urine sample, to estimate 24-hour albumin excretion. A patient may have chronic kidney disease if the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio is greater than 30 milligrams (mg) of albumin for each gram (g) of creatinine (30 mg/g). This measurement is also called UACR. Blood Test A blood test involves having blood drawn at a health care providers office or a commercial facility and sending the sample to a lab for analysis. A health care provider may order a blood test to estimate how much blood a patients kidneys filter each minutea measurement called the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Depending on the results, the test can indicate the following: - eGFR of 60 or above is in the normal range - eGFR below 60 may indicate kidney disease - eGFR of 15 or below may indicate kidney failure
Source: NIDDK