title: Elecsys NT-ProBNP and BNP assays: are there analytically and clinically relevant differences?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; 77-108 amino acids) and its N-terminal (1-76 amino acids) counterpart, NT-proBNP, are cardiac biomarkers that have been established for the assessment of left ventricular dysfunction and congestive heart failure and provide prognostic and risk stratification information for patients with acute coronary syndrome. Various automated immunoassays currently are available for the measurement of these natriuretic peptides, but there are significant analytical differences, especially between BNP and NT-proBNP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recently published methods and results were reviewed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although there are significant pre-analytical and analytical differences between the Triage BNP and Elecsys NT-proBNP and other BNP methods, they do not translate to clinically significant differences in their diagnostic and prognostic application in the assessment of systolic heart failure and risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, there appears to be some evidence that suggests that NT-proBNP may have an advantage in the detection of patients with mild or asymptomatic heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.
authors.forename: Kiang-Teck J
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Kimberly E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Dumont
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brough
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015444:Exercise; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D007511:Ischemia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain