• Andreas Luchner, Martin Möckel, Eberhard Spanuth, Joachim Möcks, Dirk Peetz, Hannsjörg Baum, Christoph Spes, Christian E Wrede, Jörn Vollert, Reinhold Müller, Hugo Katus, and Evangelos Giannitsis.
• Kliniken und Polikliniken für Innere Medizin I und II, Universitätsklinikum, F.J. Strauss Allee 11, Regensburg, Germany. andreas.luchner@klinik.uni-regensburg.de
• Eur. J. Heart Fail. 2012 Mar 1;14(3):259-67.

AimsN-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a potent marker of heart failure and other cardiac diseases. The value of NT-proBNP testing in the medical emergency department (ED) was assessed in patients >65 years old.Methods And ResultsThis large, prospective, randomized, controlled, multicentre trial was conducted in six medical EDs. Data for evaluation of the primary endpoint of hospitalization were available for 1086 patients. Median NT-proBNP was 582 pg/mL. A total of 16% of patients presented with NT-proBNP <150 pg/mL (low), 55% with NT-proBNP between 150 and 1800 pg/mL (intermediate), and 29% with NT-proBNP >1800 pg/mL (high). NT-proBNP was positively correlated with hospital admission [ odds ratio (OR) for high vs. low 2.9, P < 0.0001], length of stay (8.5 days vs. 3.5 days for high vs. low, P < 0.01), in-hospital death (3.9% vs. 0% for high vs. low, P < 0.01), 6 months re-hospitalization (OR for high vs. low 5.1, P < 0.0001), and 6 months death or re-hospitalization (OR for high vs. low 5.7, P < 0.0001). Knowledge of NT-proBNP had no significant effect on the primary endpoint hospital admission and the secondary endpoints intermediate/intensive care unit (IMC/ICU) admission, length of stay, re-hospitalization and death, or re-hospitalization in the total cohort. However, patients with high open NT-proBNP (>1800 pg/mL) were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (P < 0.05) and IMC/ICU (P < 0.05), whereas patients with low open NT-proBNP (<150 pg/mL) were less likely to be admitted (P < 0.05) compared with patients with blinded NT-proBNP.ConclusionAlthough NT-proBNP does not affect overall hospitalization, it is associated with better stratification of patient care and is strongly correlated with subsequent utilization of hospital resources and prognosis.

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