title: Validation of circulating BNP level >1000 pg/ml in all-cause mortality: A retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the primary diseases and prognoses of patients with highly elevated levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; >1000 pg/ml), with or without heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records and echocardiograms of patients with BNP levels that fell within one of three predetermined categories (>1000 pg/ml, 200-1000 pg/ml and <200 pg/ml) were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant between-group differences in duration of hospitalization. Patients with BNP levels >1000 pg/ml (n = 103) or 200-1000 pg/ml (n = 100) had significantly worse 3-year survival than those with BNP levels <200 pg/ml (n = 100). The majority of patients (64/103) in the BNP >1000 pg/ml group had heart failure. The main cause of death in patients with other causes of BNP levels >1000 pg/ml (39/103) was community acquired pneumonia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A BNP level >1000 pg/ml has clinical importance in primary care medicine and hospital settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kanazawa Medical University, Himi Municipal Hospital, Himi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan kandat@kanazawa-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tsugiyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
keywords: B-type natriuretic peptide; community acquired pneumonia; heart failure