A survey conducted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) found larger labs conduct the highest number of routine blood tests and are more likely to report estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). eGFR is a measure of kidney function that can identify early stages of kidney disease.
 
The survey discovered that more than 86 percent of the highest-volume independent labs and more than 55 percent of all labs in the top quarter of high-volume labs report eGFR, while only 24 percent of low-volume labs report this test. This demonstrates room for improvement in making eGFR readily available to primary care providers who could be treating early chronic kidney disease (CKD), and possibly reducing their patients' risk for kidney failure.
 
Talk to your doctor and find out if you've been tested.

This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Kidney Beginnings: The Electronic Newsletter.