GFR Calculator (Glomerular Filtration Rate) – DaVita Kidney Care (2024)

What Stage Am I In?

There are five stages of kidney disease. Your glomerular filtration rate (GFR)–considered by medical professionals to be the best measure of kidney function–lets kidney care experts figure out your stage of kidney disease. Understanding it can help you learn how to take control and make any change to certain lifestyle habits in order to possibly slow the progression of your condition. Determining your GFR levels requires a simple blood test. Use this GFR Calculator tool to help you determine which stage of kidney disease you are in currently.

What Your GFR Result Means

Completely healthy kidney function is measured at a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of around 100, which means that the kidneys are working at 100 percent. Your kidney function is still considered normal if the GFR number is 90 or greater. If your GFR is 45, you know that your kidneys are working at approximately 45 percent of the normal rate.

Stage 1 CKD is diagnosed when a person has kidney damage and CKD risk factors with normal or high GFR. In Stage 1, there are often few to no symptoms. Management includes a healthy diet, blood pressure regulation and good glucose control in people with diabetes. Early CKD is usually diagnosed when there is:

• High blood pressure
• Higher than normal levels of creatinine or urea in the blood
• Blood or protein in the urine
• Evidence of kidney damage in an MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, or contrast X-ray
• A family history of polycystic kidney disease (PKD)

Next Step:

Manage your kidney care by following a kidney-friendly diet. Download a free cookbook to get started.

In Stage 2 CKD, the GFR is mildly decreased between 60-89, indicating the person has kidney damage and mild loss of kidney function. Similar to Stage 1 CKD, following a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure and managing diabetes are key ways to slow the progression of CKD. Early CKD is usually diagnosed when there is:

• High blood pressure
• Higher than normal levels of creatinine or urea in the blood
• Blood or protein in the urine
• Evidence of kidney damage in an MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, or contrast X-ray
• A family history of polycystic kidney disease (PKD)

Next Step:

Manage your kidney care by following a kidney-friendly diet. Download a free cookbook to get started.

Stage 3 CKD, a moderate decrease in kidney function, is divided into 3A (GFR is 45 to 59) and 3B (GFR is 30 to 44). The following can occur when someone is in stage 3 of CKD:

• Waste products build up in the blood.
• Symptoms include fatigue, too much fluid, urination changes, sleep problems and kidney pain.
• You can often manage stage 3 by changing to akidney-friendly diet plan as well as managing high blood pressure and diabetes.
• Visit your doctor or nephrologist to help manage kidney disease through kidney-friendly living habits and possibly with prescription medication.

Next Step:

Sign up for a no-cost, instructor-led kidney disease education class near you.

When CKD has progressed to Stage 4, it's time to begin preparing for dialysis and/or a kidney transplant. If GFR falls below 30, people need to find a kidney doctor (called a nephrologist) and talk about treatment options.

• People may develop complications, such as high blood pressure, anemia, bone disease and cardiovascular diseases.
• Symptoms include fatigue, back pain, nausea, taste changes, nerve problems and difficulty sleeping.
• Seeing a kidney doctor will help a person manage their disease.
• A dietitian is usually referred by a kidney doctor to help a person with kidney disease to learn more about the right kidney diet for them.

Next Step:

Sign up for a no-cost, instructor-led kidney disease education class near you.

A person with Stage 5 CKD has end stage renal disease (ESRD) with a GFR less than 15 ml/min. At this advanced stage of kidney disease, the kidneys have lost nearly all their ability to do their job effectively, and eventually dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed to live.

• Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, itching, swelling and making little or no urine.
• People with Stage 5 CKD will need to consider a couple of different treatment options, such as dialysis (a treatment that removes wastes and excess fluid from your body) or a kidney transplant.

Next Step:

Sign up for a no-cost, instructor-led kidney disease education class near you.

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• Uncontrolled blood pressure
• High glucose
• Excessive use of pain medications
• Smoking
• Tests using dye
• Obesity

External Links

•CKD-EPI GFR Calculator:A GFR Calculator on Nephron.com (By Stephen Z. Fadem, M.D., FACP, FASN)

•MDRD GFR Calculator:A GFR Calculator on Nephron.com (By Stephen Z. Fadem, M.D., FACP, FASN)

•Pediatric GFR Calculator:A GFR Calculator for children and adolescents up to 18 yrs old (By Stephen Z. Fadem, M.D., FASN and Brian Rosenthal)

•National Kidney Foundation FAQs about GFR estimates:More information about GFR

Additional References

Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. KDIGO 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney inter., Suppl. 2013; 3: 1-150.

Levey AS, Stevens LA, Schmid CH, Zhang YL, Castro AF 3rd, Feldman HI, Kusek JW, Eggers P, Van Lente F, Greene T, Coresh J. A New Equation to Estimate Glomerular Filtration Rate. Ann Intern Med. 2009; 150:604-612.