7392X test - Avaya Aura Call Center Elite Implementation Updated: 2023

Doctors order a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test to measure the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood. It helps them see how well your kidneys are working.

Urea nitrogen is a normal waste product created in your liver as it breaks down certain proteins found in your food. Urea nitrogen travels through the blood to your kidneys, which filter out all but a small amount. Urea nitrogen exits from your body when you pee.

When your kidneys are healthy, they remove BUN, usually leaving only a small amount in your blood. When your kidneys are not healthy, they leave more BUN behind. The BUN blood test measures the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood. If your levels are outside the normal range, this might mean either your liver or kidneys are not working well.

Your doctor may order a BUN test as part of a routine checkup when a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) or basic metabolic panel (BMP) blood test is taken.

If you have a kidney condition, the test is a way to check what your BUN levels are before you start a medication or treatment. It’s also standard to perform a BUN test when you’re in the hospital for certain conditions.

If you're at higher risk for kidney disease because you have a family history of it, your doctor might order a BUN test for you.

The following conditions may also put you at risk:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Diabetes

Tell your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms, which can indicate that something is wrong with your kidneys:

• A change in how much you urinate
• Pee that is foamy, bloody, discolored, or brown
• Pain while you pee
• Swelling in your arms, hands, legs, ankles, around your eyes, face, or abdomen
• Restless legs during sleep
• Mid-back pain around the kidneys
• You’re tired all the time

How do I prepare for a BUN test?

Before the blood test, tell your doctor what medications you’re taking. If any of them might affect the test result, your doctor may ask you to stop taking them for a period of time.

If you’re only getting a BUN test, you can eat and drink. But if you’re getting other blood tests, your doctor may deliver you directions that include fasting before the test.

What happens during a BUN test?

A lab tech will take a sample of your blood from a vein in your arm or the back of your hand. You may feel a slight sting when the needle pricks your skin.

It may feel a little sore afterward, but you can go straight back to your regular activities.

Your doctor’s office will send the blood sample to a lab to be analyzed. You should get the results in a few days, depending on how fast the lab and your doctor’s office can work.

Risks of a blood urea nitrogen test

Blood tests draw a small amount of blood, and there are usually few or mild side effects. You may have pain, bruising, or slight bleeding at the site where the blood is drawn. Some people may even feel lightheaded or faint. It doesn't happen often, but the site could get infected.

The normal range for a BUN test depends on your age and sex, or the one you were assigned at birth.

Normal BUN levels

Your result will be a number that measures how much BUN is in your blood. The range considered normal is 7-20 milligrams per deciliter. (A milligram is a very tiny amount—with over 28,000 milligrams in an ounce, and a deciliter is equal to about 3.4 ounces).

If your test results are not in that range, talk to your doctor.

Several things can affect your BUN test results, so having an abnormal BUN level doesn’t always mean there's a problem.

BUN normal values by age and sex

High BUN

A high BUN test result may mean your kidneys aren't working well. Discuss with your doctor what could be causing the problem and plan your next steps.

Other conditions that may affect your BUN level might include:

Low BUN

Low BUN levels are rare. It's more likely if you have a small body. It could also point to:

• Liver disease
• Malnutrition (when your diet doesn’t have enough nutrients or your body can’t absorb them well)
• Overhydration (having too much fluid)
• A low-protein diet

A BUN test by itself can't diagnose these issues, so more tests may be needed.

If your BUN levels are high, your doctor may order more tests to measure your kidney function.

Creatinine test

A creatinine test is another blood test that checks your kidney health. You'd get it because the BUN level by itself doesn’t always reveal much.

When your BUN levels are compared to your creatinine levels, it gives a fuller picture of what’s happening with your kidneys. This is known as the BUN/creatinine ratio.

Creatinine is a waste product from your muscles that's also filtered by your kidneys. Like BUN, high levels of creatinine could mean there's a lot of waste product that hasn’t been removed by the kidneys.

BUN to creatinine ratio

The ideal ratio of BUN to creatinine falls between 10-to-1 and 20-to-1.

Having a ratio above this range could mean you may not be getting enough blood flow to your kidneys and could have conditions such as congestive heart failure, dehydration, or gastrointestinal bleeding.

A ratio below the normal range could mean liver disease or malnutrition.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) test

The GFR test measures how well your kidneys filter waste from your blood. It will tell your doctor how much kidney function you have. A very low number means kidney failure, which means you'll need dialysis (a treatment that helps your kidneys remove waste or fluids from your blood) or a kidney transplant.

There's no magic pill for treating high BUN levels. Doctors try to find out what's harming your kidney function and treat that condition. You can make changes to your diet to help lower BUN levels.

Drink more fluids. For men or those assigned male at birth, that means about 3 liters (13 cups) of fluid each day. Women and those assigned female at birth should take in about 9 cups of fluid a day. (If you already have serious kidney disease or are on dialysis, too much fluid can cause problems, so follow your doctor's recommendation.)

A diet low in protein can also help lower BUN levels. Eat healthy foods, such as:

• Pasta, oats, and rice
• Fruits including bananas, berries, and apples 
• Leafy green and other vegetables
• Avocados, nuts, and healthy fats

You should limit high-protein foods such as meats and dairy products. To reduce your BUN levels, don't eat more than 20-30 grams of protein a day.

Having a low BUN level is usually not serious. However, if you want to raise your levels, you should eat more protein and Excellerate the health of your liver by drinking less alcohol and losing weight.

If your test results show high BUN levels, talk with your doctor about whether you'll need more tests to check your kidney function. There are no medications to treat high BUN levels. However, you can make changes to your diet that may help lower or raise BUN levels.

Here’s the routine when you get a cut: apply some pressure, the bleeding stops, slap on a bandage if you need one. Seems easy enough from the outside. But inside your body, even a little nick from shaving kicks off a series of complex steps to stop the bleeding.

One of those steps is to send a bunch of proteins -- called clotting factors -- to the injured area. They fit together in a very specific way to make a blood clot, which is basically a solid lump of blood that stops up the bleeding and helps healing begin.

That’s how it’s supposed to work. When it doesn’t, you may find that you bleed or bruise easily or that you get clots in your blood vessels when you shouldn’t.

That’s when your doctor might order a partial thromboplastin time (PTT) test, which measures how many seconds it takes for your blood to clot.

What Does a PTT Test Look For?

Your body makes several different clotting factors. A problem with any of them -- if it’s missing, broken, or you don’t have enough -- can affect how long it takes a clot to form, if it forms at all.

A PTT test looks at one set of these factors to see how well they’re working. It’s often done along with another test, called the prothrombin time (PT) test, which looks at another set of clotting factors.

Together, they deliver your doctor a more complete picture of what happens in your body when a clot forms.

Why Would I Need One?

Your doctor might order this test to check for a bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia or von Willebrand disease. Symptoms of bleeding disorders include:

• Bleeding or bruising easily
• Blood clots that form when they shouldn’t
• Blood in your poop or urine
• Gums that bleed easily
• Heavy menstrual periods in women
• Nosebleeds
• Swelling or pain in your joints

You’d also need this test if you get heparin therapy -- that’s a medicine used to prevent or treat blood clots after you’ve had an issue like a heart attack or stroke. The PTT test helps make sure you get the right dose. You want to prevent dangerous clots, but still let your blood clot when you need it to.

You may also get the test to:
 

• Check that your blood clots normally before you go in for surgery
• Look for a problem with your immune system (some immune system conditions make clots more likely to form -- in women, that can also lead to miscarriages)
• See how well your liver’s working, since it makes the clotting factors

How Do I Prepare for It?

There’s nothing special you need to do to get ready.

Let your doctor know about any medicines, herbs, vitamins, or supplements you take, including over-the-counter, prescription, or illegal drugs. Many common meds, such as blood thinners, aspirin, and antihistamines, might affect your results.

What Happens During the Test?

This test is a basic blood draw and takes just a few minutes. A lab tech will:

• Clean your skin where the needle goes in
• Wrap a rubber strap around your upper arm -- this creates pressure to make your veins swell with blood
• Insert a thin needle into a vein, usually on the inside of your arm at your elbow or in the back of your hand
• Draw the blood
• Remove the rubber strap and put a bandage on your arm or hand

Are There Any Risks?

Typically, you’ll feel a prick when the needle goes in. That’s usually the worst of it, but since you’re having your blood drawn, there is a small chance of things such as:

• Bleeding or bruising
• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• Infection

What Do the Results Mean?

The test tells you how many seconds it took your blood to form a clot. What’s normal varies with different labs, so check with your doctor to help you understand what your numbers mean.

Usually, you get the results within a few hours or a day, but it depends on your lab.

A typical value for a PTT is 60 to 70 seconds. There’s also an activated PTT (aPTT) test that measures the same thing, but they add a substance to your blood to make it clot faster. A typical aPTT value is 30 to 40 seconds.

If you get the test because you’re taking heparin, you’d want your PTT results to be more like 120 to 140 seconds, and your aPTT to be 60 to 80 seconds.

If your number is higher than normal, it could mean several things, from a bleeding disorder to liver disease. You’ll usually get other tests at the same time depending on what your doctor’s looking for.

If your number is lower than normal, which doesn’t happen often, you may have a higher chance of getting blood clots and, for women, having several miscarriages. You’ll likely get more tests to find out what’s going on.

Will I Get Other Tests at the Same Time?

It depends on what your doctor’s looking for. To learn more about how your blood clots, you may get tests such as:

• Activated whole thrombin time test (ACT)
• Prothrombin time test (PT)
• Thrombin time test (TT)

Other tests you might get include:

• Dilute Russell viper venom test (DRVVT) to test for lupus anticoagulant, a sign that you have an immune system problem
• Platelet count, if you’re getting heparin therapy
• von Willebrand factor to check if you have von Willebrand disease