0
ARTICLE |

Artifactual Lowering of Serum Creatinine Levels in the Presence of Hyperbilirubinemia FREE

Amin C. Halstead, MD; Amin A. Nanji, MD, FRCP(C)
JAMA. 1984;251(1):38-39. doi:10.1001/jama.1984.03340250022010
Text Size: A A A
Published online

To the Editor.—  Measurement of serum creatinine concentration is the best of the widely available clinical means of assessing glomerular function. However, there are a number of pitfalls that must be taken into account when evaluating glomerular filtration by creatinine level measurements.1 One of these pitfalls is the spurious interference by a variety of endogenous and exogenous metabolites.2 The interference by bilirubin in the measurement of serum creatinine levels has been recognized in the technical literature for several years3-5; however, its clinical implication has received little or no attention. We describe a patient who had discordant values for serum creatinine during his hospital stay. We also investigated bilirubin interference with creatinine level measurement by various methods.

Report of a Case.—  A 34-year-old man with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis experienced oliguria two days after admission to the hospital. Relevant laboratory findings included the following measurements in serum: sodium, 135

REFERENCES

Kassirer JP, Gennari FJ:  Laboratory evaluation of renal function , in Earley LE, Gottschalk CW (eds): Diseases of the Kidney . Boston, Little Brown & Co, 1979;, pp 41-91.
Nanji AA:  Factitious biochemical results in clinical medicine . Ann R Coll Physicians Surg Can 1982;;15:35-38.
Watkins RE, Feldkamp CS, Thibert RJ, et al:  Interesting interferences in a direct serum creatinine reaction . Microchem J 1976;;21:370-384.
Dorwart WV:  Bilirubin interference in kinetic creatinine determination . Clin Chem 1979;;25:196-197.
Soldin SJ, Henderson L, Hill JG:  The effect of bilirubin and ketones on reaction rate methods for the measurement of creatinine . Clin Biochem 1978;;11:82-86.

Figures

Tables

Interactive Graphics

Video

Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

Kassirer JP, Gennari FJ:  Laboratory evaluation of renal function , in Earley LE, Gottschalk CW (eds): Diseases of the Kidney . Boston, Little Brown & Co, 1979;, pp 41-91.
Nanji AA:  Factitious biochemical results in clinical medicine . Ann R Coll Physicians Surg Can 1982;;15:35-38.
Watkins RE, Feldkamp CS, Thibert RJ, et al:  Interesting interferences in a direct serum creatinine reaction . Microchem J 1976;;21:370-384.
Dorwart WV:  Bilirubin interference in kinetic creatinine determination . Clin Chem 1979;;25:196-197.
Soldin SJ, Henderson L, Hill JG:  The effect of bilirubin and ketones on reaction rate methods for the measurement of creatinine . Clin Biochem 1978;;11:82-86.
CME Course for:


You need to register in order to view this quiz.


To understand the clinical management of acute heart failure syndromes.
Accreditation Information The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The AMA designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM per course. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Physicians who complete the CME course and score at least 80% correct on the quiz are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM.
Note: You must get at least of the answers correct to pass this quiz.
Note: You must get at least of the answers correct to pass this quiz.
You have not filled in all the answers to complete this quiz
The following questions were not answered:
Sorry, you have unsuccessfully completed this CME quiz with a score of
The following questions were not answered correctly:
For CME Course: A Proposed Model for Initial Assessment and Management of Acute Heart Failure Syndromes
Indicate what changes(s) you will implement in your practice, if any, based on this CME course.
To view and print your certificate and access a summary of your CME courses go to My CME.
NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Submit a Response

Some tools below are only available to our subscribers or users with an online account.

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.