Diagnostic performance of BNP and NT-ProBNP measurements in children with heart failure based on congenital heart defects and cardiomyopathies

ObjectivesTo test the diagnostic performance of BNP and NT-ProBNP in children with different hemodynamic dysfunctions.Design and methodsSeventy children who underwent echocardiography and were classified into left and right ventricle volume and pressure overload (LVvO, LVpO, RVvO, and RVpO, respectively) and biventricular volume overload (BVvO) were enrolled.ResultsBNP and NT-ProBNP levels in all groups were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). The increase in peptide levels was strongly correlated with the severity of heart failure (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in peptide levels in-between LVvO, LVpO, RVvO, RVpO and BVvO groups. Both measurements were significantly correlated (r = 0.76, p < 0.001) with each other. NT-ProBNP showed a high sensitivity, whereas BNP showed a high specificity and accuracy. AUCs in ROC-curve were 0.97 for BNP and 0.96 for NT-ProBNP.ConclusionsNT-ProBNP may be used in screening of risk groups for cardiac failure because of its' higher sensitivity, but BNP may be specifically used in monitoring patients with heart failure.