Simple Saliva Test Helps Diagnose Kidney Disease

Highlights

• Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the US
• Simple and inexpensive tools for the diagnosis of kidney disease are lacking
• Saliva test helps in easy diagnosis of kidney disease

A simple dipstick test for detecting the presence of salivary urea nitrogen was found to be accurate for diagnosing kidney disease in adults in Malawi, Africa.

Viviane Calice-Silva, MD, PhD (Pro-Kidney Foundation, Brazil) and her colleagues evaluated the diagnostic performance of a salivary urea nitrogen (SUN) dipstick, in Malawi, a low resource country in Africa.

742 people were selected for the study, out of which the research team diagnosed 146 patients with kidney disease using standard tests.

Increased SUN levels were associated not only with the standard diagnostic tests, but also with a higher risk of early death.

Kidney Disease - Statistics

• Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the United States
• 31 million people in the US have chronic kidney disease (CKD)
• CKD is more common among women
• Diabetes and hypertension are the leading causes of kidney failure

Diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease

• Blood tests to measure the level of waste products (creatinine and urea) in the blood
• Urine tests to analyze urine sample for any abnormalities
• Imaging tests to assess kidneys structure and size
• Kidney biopsy to know the underlying cause of your kidney problem

"Our data suggest that SUN can improve the detection of kidney disease, increasing the awareness to this devastating complication," said Dr. Calice-Silva. "Also, higher awareness and detection of kidney disease in low resource settings may increase the number of patients who are diagnosed and referred, therefore providing appropriate treatment and improving outcomes."

The test will be described at ASN Kidney Week 2016 November 15-20 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL

5 Secrets to Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy

• Eat healthy foods - limit sodium intake, eat the right amount of protein and potassium
• Hydrate yourself
• Exercise regularly and quit smoking
• Get regular kidney function screening
• Control blood pressure and blood glucose levels

Source: Medindia