The accuracy of plasma natriuretic peptide levels for diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction and chronic heart failure in community-dwelling elderly: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND
measurement of plasma natriuretic peptide levels has been proposed as a simple, accessible test to assist the diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. Most studies have been hospital based and have investigated the relationship between natriuretic peptides and cardiac dysfunction or heart failure in younger populations.


OBJECTIVE
we performed a systematic review to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of plasma natriuretic peptide measurement in elderly patients from the general population.


METHODS
electronic searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE from January 1985 to May 2008 were performed. Diagnostic cohort and cross-sectional studies on the accuracy of natriuretic peptides for diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction or chronic heart failure in people aged 75 and over in the community were included. The quality of the selected studies was assessed with the modified QUADAS tool and the data extracted by two independent reviewers.


RESULTS
five studies were included. The general quality of the studies was moderate. The extracted data could not be pooled. Negative likelihood ratios for cardiac dysfunction ranged from 0.09 to 0.29.


CONCLUSIONS
we found limited evidence supporting the use of plasma natriuretic peptide measurement for diagnosis of cardiac dysfunction or heart failure in the elderly of 75 years and over in the general population. Important questions about the implementation of plasma natriuretic peptide measurement in daily practice remain unresolved.
Vaes
Bert
B
Department of General Practice, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium. Bert.Vaes@uclouvain.be
de Ruijter
Wouter
W
Gussekloo
Jacobijn
J
Degryse
Jan
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain