Utility of a rapid B-natriuretic peptide assay in differentiating congestive heart failure from lung disease in patients presenting with dyspnea

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Abstract

Since B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted by the left ventricle (LV) in response to volume elevated LV pressure, we sought to assess whether a rapid assay for BNP levels could differentiate cardiac from pulmonary causes of dyspnea. Differentiating congestive heart failure (CHF) from pulmonary causes of dyspnea is very important for patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute dyspnea. B-natriuretic peptide levels were obtained in 321 patients presenting to the ED with acute dyspnea. Physicians were blinded to BNP levels and asked to give their probability of the patient having CHF and their final diagnosis. Two independent cardiologists were blinded to BNP levels and asked to review the data and evaluate which patients presented with heart failure. Patients with right heart failure from cor pulmonale were classified as having CHF. Patients with CHF (n = 134) had BNP levels of 758.5 +/- 798 pg/ml, significantly higher than the group of patients with a final diagnosis of pulmonary disease (n = 85) whose BNP was 61 +/- 10 pg/ml. The area under the receiver operating curve, which plots sensitivity versus specificity for BNP levels in separating cardiac from pulmonary disease, was 0.96 (p < 0.001). A breakdown of patients with pulmonary disease revealed: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): 54 +/- 71 pg/ml (n = 42); asthma: 27 +/- 40 pg/ml (n = 11); acute bronchitis: 44 +/- 112 pg/ml (n = 14); pneumonia: 55 +/- 76 pg/ml (n = 8); tuberculosis: 93 +/- 54 pg/ml (n = 2); lung cancer: 120 +/- 120 pg/ml (n = 4); and acute pulmonary embolism: 207 +/- 272 pg/ml (n = 3). In patients with a history of lung disease but whose current complaint of dyspnea was seen as due to CHF, BNP levels were 731 +/- 764 pg/ml (n = 54). The group with a history of CHF but with a current COPD diagnosis had a BNP of 47 +/- 23 pg/ml (n = 11). Rapid testing of BNP in the ED should help differentiate pulmonary from cardiac etiologies of dyspnea.

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The limited reliability of physical signs for estimating hemodynamics in chronic heart failure.

Nicola L. Stevenson, Joseph Perloff (1989)

The cardiovascular physical examination is used commonly as a basis for diagnosis and therapy in chronic heart failure, although the relationship between physical signs, increased ventricular filling pressure, and decreased cardiac output has not been established for this population. We prospectively compared physical signs with hemodynamic measurements in 50 patients with known chronic heart failure (ejection fraction, .18 +/- .06). Rales, edema, and elevated mean jugular venous pressure were absent in 18 of 43 patients with pulmonary capillary wedge pressures greater than or equal to 22 mm Hg, for which the combination of these signs had 58% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Proportional pulse pressure correlated well with cardiac index (r = .82), and when less than 25% pulse pressure had 91% sensitivity and 83% specificity for a cardiac index less than 2.2 L/min/m2. In chronic heart failure, reliance on physical signs for elevated ventricular filling pressure might result in inadequate therapy. Conversely, the adequacy of cardiac output is assessed reliably by pulse pressure. Our results facilitate decisions regarding treatment in chronic heart failure.

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Value of natriuretic peptides in assessment of patients with possible new heart failure in primary care.

D. Wood, Peter Sutton, Martin R Cowie … (1997)

The reliability of a clinical diagnosis of heart failure in primary care is poor. Concentrations of natriuretic peptides are high in heart failure. This population-based study examined the predictive value of natriuretic peptides in patients with a new primary-care diagnosis of heart failure. Concentrations of plasma atrial (ANP and N-terminal ANP) and B-type (BNP) natriuretic peptides were measured by radioimmunoassay in 122 consecutive patients referred to a rapid-access heart-failure clinic with a new primary-care diagnosis of heart failure. On the basis of clinical assessment, chest radiography, and transthoracic echocardiography, a panel of three cardiologists decided that 35 (29%) patients met the case definition for new heart failure. ANP and NT-ANP results were available for 117 patients (34 with heart failure) and BNP results for 106 (29 with heart failure). Geometric mean concentrations of natriuretic peptides were much higher in patients with heart failure than in those with other diagnoses (29.2 vs 12.4 pmol/L for ANP; 63.9 vs 13.9 pmol/L for BNP; 1187 vs 410.6 pmol/L for NT-ANP; all p or = 18.1 pmol/L, NT-ANP > or = 537.6 pmol/L, BNP > or = 22.2 pmol/L), the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for ANP were 97%, 72%, and 55%; for NT-ANP 97%, 66%, and 54%; and for BNP 97%, 84%, and 70%. Addition of ANP or NT-ANP concentration or both did not improve the predictive power of a logistic regression model containing BNP concentration alone. In patients with symptoms suspected by a general practitioner to be due to heart failure, plasma BNP concentration seems to be a useful indicator of which patients are likely to have heart failure and require further clinical assessment.

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A rapid bedside test for B-type peptide predicts treatment outcomes in patients admitted for decompensated heart failure: a pilot study.

Van Cheng, Radmila Kazanagra, Alex M. García … (2001)

The goal of this study was to determine if B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels predict outcomes of patients admitted with decompensated heart failure. Treatment of decompensated congestive heart failure (CHF) has often been based on titration of drugs to relieve patient's symptoms, a case that could be made for attempting to also treat neurohormonal abnormalities. Because BNP reflects both elevated left ventricular pressure as well as neurohormonal modulation, we hypothesized that BNP might be useful in assessing outcomes in patients admitted with decompensated CHF. We followed 72 patients admitted with decompensated New York Heart Association class III to IV CHF, measuring daily BNP levels. We then determined the association between initial BNP measurement and the predischarge or premoribund BNP measurement and subsequent adverse outcomes (death and 30-day readmission). Of the 72 patients admitted with decompensated CHF, 22 end points occurred (death: n = 13, readmission: n = 9). In these patients, BNP levels increased during hospitalization (mean increase, 233 pg/ml, p < 0.001). In patients without end points, BNP decreased (mean decrease 215 pg/ml). Univariate analysis revealed that the last measured BNP was strongly associated with the combined end point. In patients surviving hospitalization, BNP discharge concentrations were strong predictors of subsequent readmission (area under the receiver operator curve of 0.73). In patients admitted with decompensated CHF, changes in BNP levels during treatment are strong predictors for mortality and early readmission. The results suggest that BNP levels might be used successfully to guide treatment of patients admitted for decompensated CHF.