title: New horizons: NT-proBNP for risk stratification of patients with shock in the intensive care unit.
abstract: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and amino-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP) are promising cardiac biomarkers that have recently been shown to be of diagnostic value in decompensated heart failure, acute coronary syndromes and other conditions resulting in myocardial stretch and volume overload. In view of the high prevalence of cardiac disorders in the intensive care unit, the experience of elevated natriuretic peptide levels in the critically ill might be of enormous diagnostic and therapeutic value. BNP and NT-proBNP levels rise to different degrees in critical illness and may also serve as markers of severity and prognosis in diseases beyond acute or chronic heart failure. The diagnostic and prognostic use of natriuretic peptides in the intensive care setting for patients with various forms of shock could be an attractive alternative as noninvasive markers of cardiac dysfunction that could obviate the need for pulmonary artery catheterization in some patients.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. Ursula.Hoffmann@med.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borggrefe
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brueckmann
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012769:Shock / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain