Biomarker education

Creatinine: What It Measures & Why People Track It

Also called: Serum creatinine

Creatinine is a waste product measured in blood and often used when assessing kidney-related lab context.

General biomarker education — not personalized medical advice. Learn more

Result on your report

Illustrative

Creatinine

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Range: Low – High

LowReference intervalHigh

What it generally measures

Muscles produce creatinine as part of normal metabolism. Kidneys help clear it; labs report the concentration in serum or plasma.

Common units on reports: mg/dL

Creatinine is frequently reviewed with eGFR over time. Changes can have many explanations — only a clinician can interpret them for you.

Changes over time do not by themselves establish a diagnosis. Learn more

Questions to bring

Illustrative

Ask how this creatinine compares with your prior values and with eGFR on the same report.

Mention medications or hydration context your clinician has said may matter.

Ask whether the lab’s reference range and method match prior reports.

Organize your own lab history

Part of Kind Panel education · Lab results guide

Reference range

Creatinine reference range

What the range on your report means for this marker.

Panel guide

Related panel guide

Understand the broader panel this marker appears on.

Related biomarker

eGFR

eGFR is an estimate of kidney filtration rate derived from creatinine (and sometimes other inputs) using a laboratory equation.