title: Significance of low concentrations of creatinine in serum from hospital patients.
abstract: We present an analysis of the clinical significance of creatinine concentrations less than or equal to 4 mg/L (35 mumol/L) in serum as measured by a specific enzymatic method. In an unselected hospital patient population, 4% of whom had serum creatinine concentrations this low, a value of 5 mg/L (44 mumol/L) or higher was obtained on repeat analysis for a third of these patients, but the remaining two-thirds had persistently low values. Associated clinical conditions included low body mass, pregnancy, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and total immobilization, but 12% of the patients, all female, had no obvious cause for the persistently low creatinine concentration. We conclude that low concentrations of creatinine in serum have no profound clinical significance.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Thurgau State Hospital, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hagemann
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Kahn
mesh_terms: D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D010243:Paralysis / Q000097:blood; D010361:Patients; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine