Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increases progressively throughout fetal life, matures rapidly after birth according to gestational and post-menstrual age, and reaches adult values by 1-year post-natal age. GFR is considered the best marker of kidney function, and in clinical practice, estimated GFR is useful to anticipate complications, establish prognosis, and facilitate treatment decisions. This review article summarizes the maturation of glomerular filtration and the factors and conditions that modulate and impair developing glomerular filtration, and discusses the techniques available to assess GFR in neonates and infants. We focused on simple, reliable, easily available, and cheap techniques to estimate GFR, which may provide valuable information on the renal aspects of the clinical care of this group of patients.

肾小球滤过率 (GFR) 在整个胎儿生命中逐渐增加，根据孕龄和月经后年龄在出生后迅速成熟，并在出生后 1 岁时达到成人值。GFR 被认为是肾功能的最佳标志物，在临床实践中，估计的 GFR 有助于预测并发症、确定预后和促进治疗决策。这篇综述文章总结了肾小球滤过的成熟以及调节和损害肾小球滤过发育的因素和条件，并讨论了可用于评估新生儿和婴儿 GFR 的技术。我们专注于简单、可靠、容易获得和廉价的技术来估计 GFR，这可能会为这组患者的临床护理的肾脏方面提供有价值的信息。