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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Hemodynamic Precision in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit using Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography
Published on: January 27, 2023
N-terminal-pro-B type natriuretic peptide as a useful tool to evaluate pulmonary hypertension and cardiac function in
Maria J Baptista1, Gustavo Rocha, Fátima Clemente
1Divisions of Pediatric Cardiology, Neonatology and Pediatric Surgery, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital S. João, Porto, Portugal. mjb@ecsaude.uminho.pt
Objective:
In congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) the severity of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is considered, by several authors, determinant of clinical outcome. Plasmatic N-terminal-pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) might be useful in diagnosis and management of PH in newborns, although its interest in CDH infants remains to be defined. Early NT-proBNP levels were assessed in CDH infants and correlated with cardiovascular echocardiographic parameters.
Patients And Methods:
28 newborns, CDH and age-matched controls were enrolled in a prospective study. Clinical condition, NT-proBNP plasmatic levels, echo parameters of PH and biventricular function were assessed at 24 h after delivery as well as survival outcome.
Results:
Estimated mean pulmonary pressure and NT-proBNP were significantly higher in CDH than control infants. NT-proBNP significantly correlated with estimated pulmonary artery pressure, right ventricular Tei index, and tricuspid E/A ratio. Additionally, we found that CDH infants with NT-proBNP >11,500 pg/ml experienced a worse prognosis.
Conclusions:
We demonstrated that PH is associated with NT-proBNP elevation and diastolic impairment in CDH infants. Early elevations in NT-proBNP levels seem to alert for a subset of CDH infants with worse prognosis.
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