💊
Creatinine Clearance (Cockcroft-Gault)
Estimated creatinine clearance — standard for drug dosing in renal impairment
Nephrology
⚕️
Clinical reference only. Not a substitute for professional medical judgment. Verify all results against institutional protocols before clinical use.
Calculate
Cockcroft-Gault uses actual body weight. Use adjusted body weight in morbidly obese patients. Consult pharmacy for specific drug dosing.
Formula
CrCl (mL/min) = ((140 − age) × weight[kg] × (0.85 if female)) / (72 × Scr[mg/dL])
ageAge (years)
weightActual body weight (kg)
ScrSerum creatinine (mg/dL)
0.85Female correction factor
When to Use
Drug dose adjustment for renally-cleared medications, FDA-required dosing calculations, clinical pharmacy dosing consults.
Clinical Pearls
- •FDA still requires Cockcroft-Gault (not eGFR) for drug dosing decisions.
- •Use adjusted body weight (IBW + 0.4 × [ABW − IBW]) in morbid obesity.
- •Minimum creatinine of 1.0 mg/dL used in some protocols for elderly or sarcopenic patients.
- •Key drugs requiring CrCl-based dosing: vancomycin, aminoglycosides, dabigatran, apixaban, metformin.
Original Publication
Cockcroft DW (1976). Nephron.