Kidney disease diagnosis
If your doctor thinks you might have kidney disease, he or she will talk to you about your health, and about the health of your family.
You will probably also be asked to have a number of tests. These include:
- checking your blood pressure
- examining your eyes (some conditions that cause kidney problems also cause eye problems)
- urine tests (to look for blood and/or albumin, a protein that damaged kidneys leak)
- blood tests (to measure the level of waste products in the blood for example, creatinine and urea)
- an Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) test (a blood test that measures kidney function )
- imaging tests (for example, an ultrasound or CT scan to look for abnormalities in your kidneys and urinary tract).
If these tests show you have kidney damage, you may be referred to a specialist kidney doctor, called a nephrologist.
Last reviewed: February 2017
