title: Evaluation of the Alere NT-proBNP Test for Point of Care Testing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The object of the study was to evaluate the Alere point of care NT-proBNP assay as a suitable alternative to the central laboratory method to provide short test turnaround times in primary care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood NT-proBNP results obtained with the Alere assay (n = 100) were compared with serum NT-proBNP results analyzed by a Cobas 8000 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a good agreement between the two NT-proBNP methods when used as a rule-out test for heart failure (HF) and the cut-off value <300 ng/l. A total of 47 samples gave values <300 ng/L with both methods and 51 samples gave values >300 with both methods. Thus, there was an agreement for 98% of the samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows that the Alere NT-proBNP assay could be used in primary care permitting rapid NT-proBNP testing to rule out HF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Clinical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Banafsheh Seyyed
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Khezri
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Clinical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carlsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Clinical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larsson
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D000067716:Point-of-Care Testing; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
keywords: NT-proBNP; method evaluation; point of care test; primary care