Jahangir Liaquat, Iftikhar Kazi, Anwar Ali, Nadeem Baig, Mukhtiar Ahmed.
Is Measurement of BNP Worth its Value for the Diagnosis of Congestive Cardiac Failure?.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;8(4):232-5.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic role of NT pro BNP assay in patients suffering from heart failure. Design: Case series study. Methods: This study was done in the departments of Medicine & Cardiology, Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences Hospital Hyderabad, which is a tertiary care center. A total of 104 patients suffering from heart failure, proven via clinical examination, echocardiographic evidence and elevated NT proBNP assay. Receiver operative characteristic curve for NT proBNP was constituted after diagnosing the patients on clinical grounds and then confirmation of CCF via EF of <55% on echocardiography. Results: A total of 65 males and 39 females were selected. Mean (SD) age was 54.65 (± 12.5). NYHA class II, III and IV had a representation of 21/67/16 (20.2/64.4/15.4%) respectively. NT pro BNP levels were 9045 (±8960). ROC curve had an AUC of 0.88 for NT proBNP assay. Conclusion: NT proBNP is a useful tool for the diagnosis of heart failure, albeit emphasis should be on full utilization of combination of the ever important clinical examination with elevated levels of NT proBNP, which should be further evaluated via echocardiography.

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