Can you tell me what CKD means?

CKD is chronic kidney disease. We classify the degree of chronic kidney disease into stages or degrees of severity (Table 1).

GFR is glomerular filtration rate. This is a measure of the kidney’s ability to filter. It gives us an estimate

of what kind of a job your kidneys are doing. There are various methods for measuring the GFR. Your nephrologist may ask you to collect your urine for 24 hours. The urine and serum creatinine concentrations are measured. Using a mathematical formula with urine creatinine and serum creatinine, we can determine your GFR. There are more scientific methods (inulin clearance, iothalamate clearance) to measure kidney filtration, but they are not widely used in clinical practice.

ESRD is end-stage renal disease. End-stage renal disease signals that the kidneys can no longer provide their vital functions, which include excreting toxins, managing electrolytes, and maintaining a proper fluid balance. The GFR is less than 15 mL/min when ESRD occurs.