Exponential increase in clinical use of plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) assays.
OBJECTIVE
To document the number of requests by clinicians for plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurements and to define which groups of practitioners have made use of the assay over the 7 years since it became available for clinical use.


METHODS
We reviewed the number and source of requests by clinicians for measurements of plasma BNP in the Christchurch area (from 1995--when the assay became available, until July 2002).


RESULTS
There was an exponential increase in requests for BNP measurements over the 7-year period (1995-2002). Of the 11,308 samples analysed, 47% came from hospital inpatients, 25.9% from patients in general practice, and 14% from hospital emergency departments.


CONCLUSIONS
There has been a rapidly increasing uptake of the assay for plasma BNP by both hospital and primary care clinicians in the Christchurch area.
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. gary.nicholls@uaeu.ac.ae
Tim
T
Yandle
Steve
S
Fisher
John
J
Livesey
Eric
E
Espiner
Mark
M
Richards
Gary
G
Nicholls
D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood*; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D009520:New Zealand; D010821:Physicians, Family; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000097:blood*
D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain