On a warm July morning, Sasmit Roy was easing into his day at Centra Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia. As a consulting nephrologist, Roy gets called in when patients have kidney issues the general hospital staff need help with. He was reviewing the patients on his caseload when he was alerted to a new patient, admitted the night before, in potential kidney distress.
Jeanne’s face was turned toward the window when Roy walked into her room, but he could immediately tell she was worried: The 74-year-old was undergoing treatment for endometrial cancer, where cancer cells are found in the lining of the uterus. Now, she was up against another medical challenge. Retired and looking forward to her granddaughter’s upcoming wedding, she just wanted to be healthy enough to spend time with her family.
Life seemed to have alternate plans for Jeanne, though. Her oncologist had referred her to the hospital after standard blood tests showed abnormally high creatinine readings. Jeanne’s levels of this compound, which forms as proteins break down in muscles, were higher than normal — much higher. While typical creatinine levels register anywhere from 0.5 to 1.1 milligrams per deciliter of fluid, Jeanne’s creatinine clocked in at 6.8, almost seven times above normal. The compound is usually filtered out of the bloodstream by the kidneys, so high levels of creatinine are an immediate red flag for kidney issues.
