The diagnostic and prognostic role of amino-terminal pro-brain type natriuretic peptides in pediatric cardiac diseases and pulmonary hypertension

Objective: Several studies showed that N-terminal pro-brain type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) as the reliable marker both in diagnostic and prognostic workup of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease complicated by pulmonary hypertension. Furthermore, it has well assisted both in therapeutic and surgical management of children with congenital heart diseases. In this review, we aimed to analyze recent studies concerning the role of the NT-pro-BNP in pediatric cardiac patients with pulmonary hypertension. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases were used with the searching of the following words: “amino terminal pro brain type natriuretic peptide”, “pediatric pulmonary hypertension”, “congenital heart diseases”, emphasizing on original research articles published within recent 15 years and in English language. We critically analyzed and summarized the retrieved studies. Conclusion: NT-pro-BNP remains as the reliable diagnostic and prognostic marker of pulmonary hypertension and congenital heart diseases in pediatric patients. NT-pro-BNP and BNP remain as the universal marker of cardiovascular pathology in pediatric population. Improvement of their effectiveness in diagnostic workup in patients with CHD and PH undergoing surgery needs further clarification.