Laboratory measurement and reporting are critical to promoting early detection and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). NKDEP's three major laboratory-related efforts address:

• Estimating and Reporting GFR
  NKDEP promotes routine reporting of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with all serum creatinine determinations for patients age 18 and older, when appropriate and feasible. Automatic reporting by laboratories can help increase provider use of eGFR — a clinically important and practical tool for CKD detection and management.
• Creatinine Standardization
  NKDEP's Laboratory Working Group (LWG), in collaboration with the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), spearheads a global creatinine standardization effort to reduce interlaboratory variation in serum creatinine measurement and, therefore, improve accuracy of GFR estimates.
• Urine Albumin Standardization
  NKDEP and the IFCC established a joint work group to standardize measurement and reporting of urine albumin. This effort has the potential to redefine how CKD is diagnosed and managed.

NKDEP's LWG, a group of professionals representing various sectors of the clinical laboratory community, is largely responsible for conceiving and implementing these efforts. Learn more about LWG activities and members.

If you have questions about these efforts, write to csp@info.niddk.nih.gov.