Usefulness of N-Terminal-Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide as a Screening Tool for Identifying Pediatric Patients With Congenital Heart Disease

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a screening tool in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) among pediatric patients. N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations were analyzed in 119 pediatric patients with CHD and 33 healthy pediatric patients. N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in normal patients (mean, 120; range: 60–380 pg/mL) differed significantly from CHD patients with acyanotic heart diseases (mean, 372; range: 60–3000 pg/mL, P<0.001) and cyanotic heart diseases (mean, 1023; range: 182–3000 pg/mL, P<0.001). The diagnostic performance of NT-proBNP to differentiate patients with and without CHD was high with an area under curve of 0.79. At a cut-off value of 98 pg/mL, the sensitivity was 82% and the specificity was 46%. N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide measurement may be a valuable tool in screening pediatric patients for CHD.