Why the study?
Does B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) testing improve diagnostic accuracy for heart failure in emergency department patients compared to clinical acumen?
Does B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) testing improve diagnostic accuracy for heart failure in emergency department patients compared to clinical acumen?
BNP testing provides considerable utility and improved diagnostic accuracy over standard clinical and radiological evaluation for heart failure in the emergency department.
May support BNP testing for ED heart failure diagnosis; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before practice change.
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is increasingly being used as a diagnostic marker in the diagnosis of heart failure. Here we evaluate the evidence base for its utility in the ED. Clinical trials suggest that it is more accurate than clinical acumen especially when emergency physicians have diagnostic problems. BNP appears more accurate than any clinical findings or radiological signs. In conjunction with considered clinical judgement, knowledge of its limitations and variable cut-off points, BNP can be of considerable utility to the emergency physician.
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Chircop et al. (2006) studied this question.
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