title: The role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in children. - Correlation with the heart failure score and comparison with B-type natriuretic peptide -.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Both B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP) are useful biomarkers for the assessment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in adults. The purpose of this study was to determine whether BNP and NT-proBNP levels could be used to stratify the severity of CHF in children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study comprised 181 children with CHF and 232 healthy children aged from 4 months to 14 years who were categorized into CHF grades I, II, III and IV according to the modified Ross scoring system. The plasma BNP and serum NT-proBNP levels were significantly correlated with increasing CHF grades. The NT-proBNP levels were significantly different among the 4 CHF grades. However, only 2 significant differences were observed in the BNP levels between each CHF grade. NT-proBNP testing with cut-off points of >438 pg/ml (> or =grade II), >1,678 pg/ml (> or =grade III) and >7,734 pg/ml (grade IV) in the patients below 3 years of age, and >295 pg/ml (> or =grade II), >1,545 pg/ml (> or =grade III) and >3,617 pg/ml (grade IV) in those above 3 years of age was determined to be highly sensitive and specific by receiver operating characteristic analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The blood levels of BNP and NT-proBNP therefore reflect the severity of CHF in children. In particular, NT-proBNP is a useful biomarker for evaluating CHF in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Asahikawa Medical College, Furano, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakau
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: Kasumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okushima
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujiyasu
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kakuya
authors.forename: Kazutomo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujieda
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kajino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000097:blood*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain