Key result
Hepatitis infection and liver cirrhosis linked to markedly elevated NT-proBNP levels versus healthy controls.
Why the study?
The correlation between serum NT-proBNP concentration and hepatitis virus infection or liver disease was not well established.
Is serum NT-proBNP concentration elevated in patients with hepatitis virus infection and liver disease compared to healthy controls?
Case-Control (n=867)
Is serum NT-proBNP concentration elevated in patients with hepatitis virus infection and liver disease compared to healthy controls?
Hepatic pathologic lesions, particularly cirrhosis, are associated with elevated NT-proBNP levels in patients with HBV or HCV infection, which should be considered when using this biomarker for heart failure diagnosis.
May confound HF diagnosis via NT-proBNP in cirrhosis; leaves open causal links in observational data.
PURPOSE: NT-proBNP has emerged as a powerful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in heart disease. Studies showed that NT-proBNP is a sensitive biomarker for identifying patients with heart failure caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) related myocarditis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the serum concentration of NT-proBNP and hepatitis virus infection/liver disease. METHODS: 223 serum samples from blood donors (aged 19~50 years old) were collected as a control group, and 644 samples were obtained from patients infected by hepatitis viruses including 493 HBV: 364 chronic hepatitis (CH), 86 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 43 liver cirrhosis (LC) and 151 HCV (85 CH, 14 HCC, 52 LC). All samples were assayed with an Elecsys immunoassay analyzer for NT-proBNP concentration. RESULTS: The mean concentration of NT-proBNP in the control group was 21.77 pg/ml and showed no significant variation with either age or gender. Both the mean value and the rate of abnormality of NT-proBNP were significantly higher for the HBV- and HCV-infected groups in comparison with the control group. The mean NT-proBNP value (380.24 pg/ml) and abnormality rate (38.41%) in the HCV group were higher than that of the HBV group. For samples from patients with HBV/HCV-related hepatic disease/pathology, the mean NT-proBNP value (517.19 pg/ml/597.18 pg/ml) were the highest in the liver cirrhosis group. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic pathologic lesions, particularly cirrhosis, may contribute to the elevation of NT-proBNP in subjects with HBV/HCV infection.
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Wang et al. (2011) conducted a case-control in Hepatitis virus infection and liver disease (n=867). Hepatitis virus infection (HBV/HCV) and liver disease vs. Healthy blood donors was evaluated on Serum concentration of NT-proBNP. Hepatitis virus infection and liver cirrhosis were associated with significantly elevated serum NT-proBNP concentrations compared to healthy controls (e.g., 597.18 pg/ml in HCV cirrhosis vs 21.77 pg/ml).
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