Proving the Clearance Equation

by Daniela Perez

Submitted : Spring 2016

The clearance equation is a quantitative tool used to assess the activity of the kidney. In the hospital, a variety of patients enter that could make up a full spectrum of renal capabilities. Renal activity, or the kidneys’ filtration of waste from blood plasma, is therefore examined under a quantitative basis to eliminate confusion in language. “Low” or “poor” are not sufficiently precise terms for describing a patient’s renal condition. It is also important to have a quantitative measure for this parameter because dialysis and transplant treatment influence ones’ filtration capabilities and it is crucial to be able to accurately compare the effects of treatment. A person’s clearance rate of a specific solute is the amount of time required for all of that solute to be filtered by the kidneys alone from x ml of blood plasma volume. Yes, the kidneys are not the only facets of the body’s endocrine system that may be able to filter blood waste, but they are efficient, important, and necessary. Renal Clearance is thereby measured as a rate: volume of plasma (ml)/time (min) and is usually given as a whole number, referring to the volume of plasma that the solute is being cleared from. In this project, the measured rate of clearance of a solute will be compared to the one calculated by the clearance equation.

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