Journal of internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
B-type natriuretic peptide in the evaluation and management of dyspnoea in primary care.
The rapid and accurate diagnosis of heart failure in primary care is a major unmet clinical need. We evaluated the additional use of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. ⋯ The use of BNP levels in primary care did not reduce total medical cost, but improved some of the secondary end-points including diagnostic certainty and time to initiation of appropriate treatment.