Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)
eGFR estimates how well your kidneys filter waste from the blood. It is calculated from your serum creatinine, age, sex, and race, and is the best overall indicator of kidney function.
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What the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) test tells you
The estimated glomerular filtration rate is not measured directly. It is calculated by the laboratory from your serum creatinine together with your age and sex, using a validated equation from the CKD-EPI family. The calculation translates a chemistry value that is hard to read on its own into a functional estimate of how much blood your kidneys are clearing of waste. That translation is what makes eGFR so widely used: the same creatinine means something quite different in a young muscular man and in an elderly woman, and the equation adjusts for that.
Because it puts kidney function on a common scale, eGFR underpins a great deal of everyday medicine. It is the number used to place chronic kidney disease into stages, to decide when a referral to a kidney specialist is appropriate, and to set safe doses of medicines the kidneys clear. It is also the number doctors watch over years, since a gradual downward drift carries more meaning than any one result. Modern equations no longer apply a race-based adjustment, so results calculated recently may not line up exactly with older ones on your records.
One reduced eGFR does not equal chronic kidney disease. That diagnosis requires reduced filtration or evidence of kidney damage that persists over months, which is why your doctor will usually repeat the test and add a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio to look for protein leaking through the filters. Temporary dips are common during dehydration, infection or after starting certain medicines, and they often recover. Conversely a higher-than-expected eGFR is not automatically reassuring, since low muscle mass produces a low creatinine and therefore an overestimate of kidney function.
Recommended for anyone with risk factors for kidney disease (diabetes, hypertension, family history) and as a routine part of metabolic panels for adults.
- Overall kidney function
It is the single best routine indicator of how well your kidneys are filtering, expressed on a scale that can be compared between people.
- Staging kidney disease
Doctors use it to categorise chronic kidney disease and to decide how closely kidney function needs to be watched.
- Guiding drug doses
Many medicines and contrast agents need dose adjustment or avoidance when filtration is reduced, and this is the number used to decide.
- Tracking change over time
Serial results show whether kidney function is stable or declining, which matters far more than any single reading.
Reasons your doctor may request the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) test
Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.
Routine adult screening
- As part of a routine adult metabolic screen.
Risk factors & family history
- Living with diabetes, high blood pressure or established cardiovascular disease.
- A family history of kidney disease or a known inherited kidney condition.
Known kidney disease & medication
- Monitoring diagnosed chronic kidney disease at intervals set by your doctor.
- Before contrast imaging or before starting a medicine that stresses the kidneys.
- Long-term use of anti-inflammatory painkillers, lithium or other drugs that can affect kidney function.
A result in the Normal band, 90 mL/min/1.73 m² or above, indicates healthy kidney filtration. A result in the Mildly reduced band, 60 to 89, is common and often simply reflects age; on its own, without protein in the urine or other signs of kidney damage, it is not classed as chronic kidney disease. A result in the Reduced band, below 60 on repeat tests at least three months apart, meets the definition of chronic kidney disease and should be discussed with your doctor, who will look for the cause and review medicines that are cleared by the kidneys. eGFR is calculated from blood creatinine, age and sex rather than measured directly, so anything that shifts creatinine shifts it too: a very muscular build, creatine supplements or a large meat meal can make it read lower, and low muscle mass can make it read higher. A single low result during dehydration or illness is usually repeated. It is read with creatinine, urine albumin, blood pressure and your history.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nirupama Sabhapathy
Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.
What a higher result can point to
- Low muscle mass, which produces a low creatinine and therefore an overestimated filtration rate.
- Glomerular hyperfiltration, which can occur early in diabetes and in significant obesity.
- Pregnancy, which increases blood volume and kidney blood flow.
- Younger age, since filtration is naturally higher in early adulthood and declines gradually thereafter.
- Limb amputation or a prolonged period of immobility that has reduced total muscle bulk.
What a lower result can point to
- Chronic kidney disease arising from diabetes, high blood pressure or glomerular disease.
- Acute kidney injury from dehydration, severe infection, low blood pressure or blood loss.
- Obstruction to urine flow, for example from stones or an enlarged prostate.
- Medicines that reduce filtration or damage kidney tissue, including some anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and contrast agents.
- A large muscle mass, creatine supplements or a heavy meat meal, which raise creatinine and depress the estimate without any kidney problem.
- The gradual decline in filtration that accompanies normal ageing.
These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.
What this test cannot tell you
- It is an estimate rather than a measurement, and it is least reliable at the extremes of body composition, after amputation, in pregnancy and in people with very high or very low muscle mass.
- The equation assumes creatinine is stable, so it is unreliable while kidney function is changing rapidly, such as during acute kidney injury.
- Filtration alone does not describe kidney health; a urine albumin measurement is needed to detect damage that has not yet reduced filtration.
Risks of the blood draw
- Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
- Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
- Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
- 1eGFR is calculated from creatinine, age and sex, not measured directly.
- 2It moves in the opposite direction to creatinine: as creatinine rises, eGFR falls.
- 3Chronic kidney disease requires a reduced result or evidence of damage that persists over months, not a single low value.
- 4Anything that alters creatinine, including muscle mass and diet, alters the estimate too.
- 5Current equations no longer include a race adjustment, so older results may not be directly comparable.
Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) is also part of these health checkups, which add a wider screen in the same appointment.
Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) also comes in these focused packages, which pair it with the tests usually read alongside it.
- BiochemistryCreatinine, Serum
Serum creatinine is a waste product from muscle metabolism filtered by the kidneys. This test is one of the most reliable markers for kidney…
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The renal profile is a comprehensive panel that evaluates kidney function, including creatinine, BUN, electrolytes, and eGFR. It detects kidney…
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Serum urea measures the waste product formed when the liver breaks down protein. Elevated levels can indicate kidney impairment, dehydration, or high…
25View - Urine StudiesAlbumin Creatinine Ratio, Urine (Microalbumin)
This spot urine test detects small amounts of albumin leaking into the urine: an early warning sign of kidney damage. It is a key screening tool for…
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) test. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to our team→Our laboratory reports 90 mL/min/1.73 m² or above as normal, indicating healthy kidney filtration. A result of 60 to 89 is reported as mildly reduced and often simply reflects age. Below 60 on repeat tests at least three months apart meets the definition of chronic kidney disease and should be discussed with your doctor.
Usually not on its own. A mildly reduced result is common and often reflects the gradual decline in filtration that comes with age. Without protein in the urine or other signs of kidney damage, it is not classed as chronic kidney disease, though your doctor may keep an eye on the trend and check urine albumin.
Creatinine is the waste product actually measured in your blood, and eGFR is a filtration rate calculated from it together with your age and sex. They move in opposite directions: as creatinine rises, eGFR falls. eGFR is easier to read as a measure of kidney function, but anything that shifts creatinine, such as muscle mass or diet, shifts eGFR too.
eGFR alone is not enough. It shows how well the kidneys filter, but early damage, particularly in diabetes and high blood pressure, can leak albumin into the urine long before filtration falls. That is why a urine albumin measurement is usually paired with eGFR when screening people at risk of kidney disease.
A high eGFR is usually not a concern. It is common in younger adults and in pregnancy, and it can be overestimated in people with low muscle mass or after a limb amputation, because they produce less creatinine. Less often it reflects hyperfiltration, which can occur early in diabetes and in significant obesity.
Small variation is normal because the calculation depends on creatinine, which shifts with hydration, diet, exercise and everyday biological variation. Your doctor looks at the trend across several results rather than reacting to a single change.
No. Chronic kidney disease requires the reduction to persist over months, or evidence of kidney damage such as albumin in the urine. Temporary dips during dehydration or infection are common and often recover fully.
Yes, substantially. Muscle produces creatinine, so a very muscular person can have an underestimated eGFR while someone with little muscle can have an overestimated one, even though both have healthy kidneys.
No. Current equations have removed the race adjustment, which means an eGFR calculated now may differ from one calculated on the same creatinine some years ago. Your doctor will interpret older results with that in mind.
No. eGFR is calculated from a routine blood sample, so fasting is not needed. For the most accurate result, avoid a large meat or offal meal and unusually heavy exercise the day before, since both raise creatinine and lower the calculated rate, and drink fluids as normal.
The eGFR test is AED 45, including a physician-reviewed report, with results usually within 24 hours. Home collection anywhere in Dubai is free when your order reaches AED 300 or includes a package; below that, a AED 100 home collection fee applies (AED 50 for a lab walk-in).