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NT-proBNP: a new diagnostic screening tool to differentiate between patients with normal and reduced left ventricular
Objective:
To evaluate whether measurements of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) can be used to differentiate patients with normal and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in an unselected consecutive group of hospital inpatients.
Setting:
City general hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Patients And Design:
During a 10 month period 2230 admissions to a city general hospital (80% of targeted patients) had an echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular function, a comprehensive clinical evaluation, and blood analysis of N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) within 24 hours of admission. Exclusions resulted from lack of informed consent or failure to obtain the required evaluations before death or discharge from hospital. Echocardiography was unsatisfactory in 37 patients, so the final number studied was 2193.
Results:
A raised NT-proBNP (>or= 357 pmol/l) identified patients with an LVEF of
Conclusions:
A single measurement of NT-proBNP at the time of hospital admission provides important information about LVEF in unselected patients.
