77 years. Lower back pain, cold, asleep during conversations. History of open heart surgery and 20% functioning kidneys. What tests should be done?
Patient: Hi I am worried about my Dad who is 77 years old.  He had open heart surgery 20 months ago and came through it great.  Before he went into surgery his kidneys were only functioning at 20%. Over the past two months he has been complaining about lower back pain, being cold and has started to fall asleep during a conversation. My question is when he goes to see his family doctor what types of testing should he have done to see if his kidney has failed any worse than it was when he had his surgery.  We live in a very small community and it is hard to get a referral to see a specialist. Doctor: hii appreciate the care and concern for your dad. when you see your family doctor next time to know about the kidney function, he will definitely ask you to do some renal function tests like serum creatinine, blood urea and serum electrolytes. these tests will reflect the kidney function. if they are abnormal you have to consult a nephrologist for further treatment as it needs dialysishope my reply has answered your doubtstake care