Nt-Probnp versus Echocardiography in the Etiologic Diagnosis of Acute Severe Dyspnea-Juniper Publishers
Juniper Publishers - Journal of Anesthesia Abstract Introduction: Acute dyspnea is a common presenting complaint to the emergency department (ED). Etiologic diagnosis is often difficult in the context of emergency. N terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) and echocardiography are actually fundamental tools in the management of patients with heart failure in the ED. The goal of this study was to compare the accuracy of Nt-Pro BNP assay with Doppler echocardiography in differentiating CHF from other causes in patients consulting the ED for severe dyspnea. Results: A total of 65 patients were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) was retained in 44 cases. The initial diagnosis was wrong in 15 patients (23%): CHF was missed in 10 (15.38%) patients and wrongly diagnosed in 5 (7.69%) patients. The mean Nt-ProBNP concentration was 9188±6338 pg/mL in the CHF group, compared with 416±400 pg/mL in the non-CHF group (p<0.0001...