Brain natriuretic peptide plasma levels as a marker of prognosis in patients with community-acquired infection

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the role of the N-terminal prohormone form of BNP (NT-proBNP) in patients with acute community-acquired infection as a predictive marker and its correlation with the type of infection. We studied 42 patients with acute community-acquired infection. Levels of NT-proBNP were measured in all patients at hospital admission and on the third day, as well as in a control group of 84 healthy blood donors. NT-proBNP levels were markedly elevated in patients, 5897 versus 108 pg/ml in the control group (P=0.01) A positive association between the NT-proBNP levels and the final outcome of infection (P<0.0001) was found. Multivariate regression analysis identified NT-proBNP levels as the most important predictor of unfavorable outcome (P=0.017). Patients with lower respiratory tract infection had the maximum increase in NT-proBNP levels (P<0.048) and the most unfavorable outcome (P<0.03) regarding other sites of infection.