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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may have a blood urea nitrogen test if your doctor suspects that you have kidney damage, or if your kidney function needs to be evaluated. If you're receiving dialysis, you may have a BUN test to help determine the effectiveness of that treatment.
If kidney problems are the primary concern, when your blood is tested for urea levels, it's likely it will also be tested for creatinine levels. Creatinine is another waste product that healthy kidneys filter out of your body in urine. High levels of creatinine may be a sign of kidney damage.
Your doctor may also order a BUN test as part of a blood test group to help diagnose a number of other conditions, such as liver failure, urinary tract obstruction, congestive heart failure or gastrointestinal bleeding. But a low BUN test result alone doesn't diagnose any of these conditions.
- Blood urea nitrogen. In: Nicoll D, et al. Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests. 5th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aID=3135548&searchStr=blood urea nitrogen. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Your kidneys and how they work. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov. Accessed Oct. 22, 2008.
- Lab Tests Online: BUN. American Association for Clinical Chemistry. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/bun/test.html. Accessed Oct. 22, 2008
- Stevens L, et al. Assessment of kidney function: Serum creatinine; BUN; and GFR. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 22, 2008.
- Palevsky PM. Dialysis modality and dosing strategy in acute renal failure. Seminars in Dialysis. 2006;19:165.
- Nally JV. Acute renal failure in hospitalized patients. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2002;69:569.
- Morgan GE, et al. Anesthesia for patients with renal disease. In: Morgan GE, et al. Clinical Anesthesiology. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=892940. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Reference values. Blood urea nitrogen. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008.
