RT Book, Section A1 Bland, Christopher M. A1 Jenkins, Caitlin A1 Scott Sutton, S. A2 Sutton, S. Scott SR Print(0) ID 1158314884 T1 Estimating Renal Function T2 McGraw-Hill's NAPLEX® Review Guide, 3e YR 2019 FD 2019 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781260135923 LK accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1158314884 RD 2024/03/29 AB Estimating renal function is important for patients taking renally eliminated medications in order to maximize effectiveness while limiting toxicity. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is an effective indicator of renal function and normal values are approximately 130 mL/min/1.73 m2 for men and 120 mL/min/1.73 m2 for women. The gold standard for approximating GFR is the inulin clearance method. Inulin is filtered by the glomerulus and is not secreted or reabsorbed, making it an ideal agent for approximating GFR. The inulin clearance method is rarely done because it is costly, invasive, and requires technical expertise. Additional markers used to estimate GFR include iothalamate, iohexol, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Like inulin, these markers are expensive and have limited availability, making them impractical in the clinical setting. Numerous methods have been developed to estimate GFR and examples include the Cockcroft-Gault and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations.