Evaluation of a height/plasma creatinine formula in the measurement of glomerular filtration rate

Abstract

The clinical usefulness of the quantity height (cm)/plasma creatinine (Ht/Pcr) as a predictor of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was investigated in 163 children with varying levels of renal function. Plasma creatinine levels (mumol/l) were measured by an automated reaction rate method. The results indicate that in rather more than half the children studied, an estimate of GFR adequate for ordinary clinical purposes will be obtained from Ht/Pcr, or from the derived formula GFR (ml/min per 1.73 m2) = 40 Ht/Pcr. The accuracy of the prediction is greatest in children with reduced function (GFR less than 80 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and in this group of patients a change of GFR of 19 ml/min per 1.73 m2 or more is reliably detected by this method. We conclude that Ht/Pcr is a clinically useful aid to the estimation of renal function, reducing the need for formal GFR measurements by at least half.