Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease is when a patient suffers from the loss of kidney function over time that decreases the kidney’s ability to remove waste and excess water from the blood.  Complications include high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health, nerve damages, and increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease.  There are 5 stages of chronic kidney disease based Glomerular Filtration Rate or GFR, a measure illustrating how well the kidneys are cleaning the blood.

Stage	Description	GFR Level
1	Kidney damage with normal or high GFR	90 mL/min or more
2	Kidney damage and mild decrease in GFR	60 to 89 mL/min
3	Moderate decrease in GFR	30 to 59 mL/min
4	Severe decrease in GFR	15 to 29 mL/min
5	Kidney failure	Less than 15 mL/min or on dialysis

Early detection and treatment can prevent chronic kidney disease from getting worse.  Please review the diagnosis and management guidelines from the Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium (MQIC) below.