Background: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is elevated in patients with end-stage renal failure. The reported accuracy of BNP in diagnosing left ventricular dysfunction in these patients has been inconsistent.
Aim: To investigate the diagnostic values of BNP for left ventricular dysfunction in patients undergoing haemodialysis for chronic renal failure.
Methods: We measured plasma BNP before and at 10 min and 3, 6 and 24 h after haemodialysis in 56 patients.
Results: The average plasma BNP before haemodialysis was 284 +/- 369 pg/mL, which was higher than that of healthy subjects (37 +/- 37 pg/mL; n = 32, P < 0.01). The average plasma BNP in patients with left ventricular dysfunction (n = 21) was substantially higher than that in those with normal ventricular function before and at 10 min and 3, 6 and 24 h after haemodialysis (P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was greater than 0.895 before and at the four time points after haemodialysis (P < 0.01). Using 152 pg/mL as a cut-off value, predialysis BNP has 81% sensitivity and 83% specificity in diagnosing left ventricular dysfunction in these patients.
Conclusion: We concluded that plasma BNP offers a good sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing left ventricular dysfunction in patients with dialysis-dependent renal failure.