The Role of Brain Natriuretic Peptide as a Prognostic Marker for Sepsis

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a neurohormone released in response to volume expansion and increased pressure. It is commonly used to assist in the diagnosis and management of heart failure. BNP can also play an important role as a biomarker in septic shock; however, elevations of BNP in conditions other than sepsis or cardiac dysfunction limits its use as the sole prognostic marker in patients hospitalized with sepsis. Further relationships regarding laboratory value and correlation with severity of illness need to be established with larger prospective studies to develop consensus regarding a cut-off point for optimum sensitivity and specificity in predicting in-hospital mortality related to sepsis.