The BUN test stands for the Blood Urea Nitrogen test. Naturally, this is a test used to determine the concentration of urea and nitrogen in the blood of an individual. A blood test is a simple testing procedure where a sample of blood is drawn from a vein in the upper forearm of the patient. In some cases, the location for the blood draw will be different. The BUN test is conducted to check the functioning of the kidneys.
The kidneys are a pair of organs that are tasked with the function of cleaning the blood. Blood is used as a transport medium for nutrients and hormones to various parts of the body. Blood is also used to remove wastes from these parts of the body. When these wastes are removed from the blood, they pass into the urinary bladder. Here, they await urination in order to be expelled from the body. The kidneys function continuously throughout the day, producing small quantities of wastes that pass through each ureter from each kidney into the urinary bladder. When the kidneys are not functioning properly, a BUN test will be able to diagnose this fact.
One important thing to note is that the BUN test has many different drug interactions that would affect its results. The results of the BUN test will be contaminated if the patient is consuming certain drugs that cause problems with the blood sample. Before the BUN test, the patient should make the doctor aware of what medications are being consumed. Accordingly, the doctor can stop the medicines that would affect the test results. In some cases, these medications can be changed to others which are less likely to contaminate the results of a BUN test. As with all blood sample tests, the BUN test does not take more than a minute to perform as far as the patient is concerned. After the BUN test, the patient will be allowed to leave. The results will be available after the sample has been tested in a laboratory. A bun test during pregnancy may be conducted only on the advice of the doctor.
The BUN normal test range lies between 7 and 21 milligrams per deciliter of blood. Generally speaking, if the values lie towards the middle or lower middle of the range, the patient is considered to be healthy. A BUN test with high results is one that is likely to indicate some form of kidney function problem. The doctor may also explain other medical conditions that can cause high or low BUN test levels.