British journal of anaesthesia
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N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations predict cardiovascular outcome in many settings. There are very few data assessing the utility of NT-proBNP concentrations in the prediction of long-term outcome after cardiac surgery. We assessed the ability of NT-proBNP to predict 3 yr mortality compared with validated clinical risk prediction tools. ⋯ Preoperative NT-proBNP concentrations and the EuroSCORE have equivalent, and moderate, predictive accuracy for mortality 3 yr after cardiac surgery. EuroSCORE uses clinical data but is not routinely used for individual clinical risk prediction. NT-proBNP measurement would incur additional costs but can be measured quickly and objectively. With such similar predictive accuracy, factors such as the ease of calculation and cost will likely determine their use in clinical practice.