AboutNewell R. Falkinburg, M.D., FACP Expertise I am a board certified nephrologist and emeritus professor of medicine at a major medical school and past Director of Nephrology & Hypertension at a university affiliated hospital. I have expertise in all areas of clinical nephrology, dialysis, transplantation and plasmapheresis.
Experience Professor of medicine
Director of Nephrology
Question I’m a 33 year old white male with an eGFR score of 50. Should I be concerned?
Answer Dear Philip,
This GFR estimation is abnormal and you need to follow up with a 24 hour urine collection to directly calculate the creatinine clearance which gives a more reliable measurement of GFR.
Sometimes, if one has a large muscle mass, such as a weight lifter or a well conditioned athlete, the estimated GFR is falsely low. However, it needs to be documented because if your kidney function is, in fact, low it needs a thorough evaluation.
