Evaluation of B-type natriuretic peptide to predict complicated pulmonary embolism in patients aged 65 years and older: brief report

The problem of under-diagnosis and over-diagnosis of pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is an increasingly recognised condition which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the better awareness of this serious condition, the diagnosis is still overlooked in many cases with sometimes fatal consequences. Under-diagnosis may be due to several reasons including reliance on non-specific 'classic' symptoms, belief that bedside measurements will likely be abnormal in the setting of acute PE, and confounding factors like co-existent cardiorespiratory diseases or being in an intensive care unit, where the diagnosis may not be considered. At the same time, incidental diagnosis of PE is occurring more often due to frequent use of imaging investigations alongside advancements in CT technology, and dilemma exists as to whether the chance finding of PE requires anticoagulation, especially when identified only at the subsegmental level. This article reviews these two issues of under-diagnosis and over-diagnosis of PE in the current era.

A comparison of patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism who are ≥65 years with patients <65 years

Recent studies have highlighted differences in how older patients respond to high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) and treatment. However, guidelines for PE risk stratification and treatment are not based on age, and data are lacking for older patients. We characterized the impact of age on clinical features, risk stratification, treatment, and outcomes in a sample of patients with PE in the emergency department. We performed an observational cohort study of 547 consecutive patients with PE in the emergency department from 2005 to 2011 in an urban tertiary hospital. We used bivariate proportions and multivariable logistic regression to compare clinical presentation, risk category, treatment, and outcomes in patients ≥65 years with those <65 years. The mean age was 58 ± 17 years, 276 (50%) were women, and 210 (38%) were ≥65 years. PE was more severe in patients ≥65 years (massive 14% vs 5%, submassive 48% vs 25%, and low risk 38% vs 70%, p <0.0001), with submassive PE being the most common presentation in patients ≥65 years. However, subanalysis removing natriuretic peptides from the definition of submassive PE negated this finding. Treatment with parenteral anticoagulation (88% vs 90%, p = 0.32), thrombolytic therapy (5% vs 4%, p = 0.87), and inferior vena cava filter (4% vs 4%, p = 0.73) were similar among age groups. Patients ≥65 years had higher 30-day mortality (11% vs 3%, p <0.001). In conclusion, patients ≥65 years present with more severe PE and have higher mortality, although treatment patterns were similar to younger patients. Age-specific guideline definitions of submassive PE may better identify high-risk patients.

New prospective for the management of low-risk pulmonary embolism: prognostic assessment, early discharge, and single-drug therapy with new oral anticoagulants

Patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) can be stratified into two different prognostic categories, based on the presence or absence of shock or sustained arterial hypotension. Some patients with normotensive PE have a low risk of early mortality, defined as <1% at 30 days or during hospital stay. In this paper, we will discuss the new prospective for the optimal management of low-risk PE: prognostic assessment, early discharge, and single-drug therapy with new oral anticoagulants. Several parameters have been proposed and investigated to identify low-risk PE: clinical prediction rules, imaging tests, and laboratory markers of right ventricular dysfunction or injury. Moreover, outpatient management has been suggested for low-risk PE: it may lead to a decrease in unnecessary hospitalizations, acquired infections, death, and costs and to an improvement in health-related quality of life. Finally, the main characteristics of new oral anticoagulant drugs and the most recent published data on phase III trials on PE suggest that the single-drug therapy is a possible suitable option. Oral administration, predictable anticoagulant responses, and few drug-drug interactions of direct thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors may further simplify PE home therapy avoiding administration of low-molecular-weight heparin.

Prospective comparison of clinical prognostic scores in elder patients with a pulmonary embolism

BACKGROUND

The Geneva Prognostic Score (GPS), the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) and its simplified version (sPESI) are well-known clinical prognostic scores for a pulmonary embolism (PE).

OBJECTIVES

To compare the prognostic performance of these scores in elderly patients with a PE.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a multicenter Swiss cohort of elderly patients with venous thromboembolism, we prospectively studied 449 patients aged ≥ 65 years with a symptomatic PE. The outcome was 30-day overall mortality. We dichotomized patients as low vs. higher risk in all three scores using the following thresholds: GPS scores ≤ 2 vs. > 2, PESI risk classes I-II vs. III-V and sPESI scores 0 vs. ≥ 1. We compared 30-day mortality in low- vs. higher-risk patients and the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTS

Overall, 3.8% of patients (17/449) died within 30 days. The GPS classified a greater proportion of patients as low risk (92% [413/449]) than the PESI (36.3% [163/449]) and the sPESI (39.6% [178/449]) (P < 0.001 for each comparison). Low-risk patients based on the sPESI had a mortality of 0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0-2.1%) compared with 0.6% (95% CI 0-3.4%) for low-risk patients based on the PESI and 3.4% (95% CI 1.9-5.6%) for low-risk patients based on the GPS. The areas under the ROC curves were 0.77 (95% CI 0.72-0.81), 0.76 (95% CI 0.72-0.80) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.66-0.75), respectively (P = 0.47).

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort of elderly patients with PE, the GPS identified a higher proportion of patients as low risk but the PESI and sPESI were more accurate in predicting mortality.

Cardiac biomarkers in the critically ill

Cardiac biomarkers have well-established roles in acute coronary syndrome and congestive heart failure. In many instances, the detection of cardiac biomarkers may aid in the diagnosis and risk assessment of critically ill patients. Despite increasing interest in the use of cardiac biomarkers in noncardiac critical illness, no clear consensus exists on how and in which settings markers should be measured. This article briefly describes what constitutes an ideal biomarker and focuses on those that have been most well studied in critical illness, specifically troponin, the natriuretic peptides, and heart-type fatty acid-binding protein.

Management of massive and submassive pulmonary embolism, iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is responsible for the hospitalization of >250 000 Americans annually and represents a significant risk for morbidity and mortality. Despite the publication of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to aid in the management of VTE in its acute and chronic forms, the clinician is frequently confronted with manifestations of VTE for which data are sparse and optimal management is unclear. In particular, the optimal use of advanced therapies for acute VTE, including thrombolysis and catheter-based therapies, remains uncertain. This report addresses the management of massive and submassive pulmonary embolism (PE), iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (IFDVT),and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The goal is to provide practical advice to enable the busy clinician to optimize the management of patients with these severe manifestations of VTE. Although this document makes recommendations for management, optimal medical decisions must incorporate other factors, including patient wishes, quality of life, and life expectancy based on age and comorbidities. The appropriateness of these recommendations for a specific patient may vary depending on these factors and will be best judged by the bedside clinician.

Tenascin-C may be a predictor of acute pulmonary thromboembolism

AIM

Numerous studies have shown an increase in NT-pro BNP, troponin I and D-dimer levels with right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography in patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). We found no data about the relation between tenascin-C and acute PTE in the litera-ture. The aim of this study was to evaluate tenascin-C levels in acute PTE and correlate them with NT-pro BNP, troponin I and D-dimer.

METHOD

Thirty-four patients who have massive or submassive PTE on spiral thorax CT (PTE group) and twenty healthy volunteers (non-PTE group) were evaluated. In all patients, right ventricular functions were obtained on transthoracic echocardiography and plasma tenascin-C, NT-pro BNP, troponin I, and D-dimer levels were measured.

RESULTS

The left ventricular systolic diameter, left ventricular diastolic diameter and left ventricular ejection fraction were similar in the two groups. The right heart chamber sizes and main pulmonary artery diameter were significantly larger in the PTE group and systolic pulmonary artery pressures were also significantly higher in this group. Tenascin-C, NT-pro BNP, and D-dimer levels were also significantly higher in the PTE group than in the non-PTE group (p< 0.001). The troponin I levels did not differ between the two groups (p=0.4). Tenascin-C was found to be highly correlated with sPAP and NT-pro BNP and correlated with D-dimer; however, troponin I was not correlated with tenascin-C.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that tenascin-C may be an indicator of acute PTE.

Comparison of biomarkers for predicting disease severity and long-term respiratory prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

Biomarkers are needed for early risk stratification and improved inpatient management to obtain better outcomes in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate biomarkers of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in order to predict a complicated clinical course and long-term respiratory complications in acute PE.We retrospectively enrolled 50 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute PE. Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), troponin-I, fibrin degradation products, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and arterial pH were measured to assess their prognostic significance. RVD was evaluated by echocardiography at admission, the clinical course during hospitalization was monitored for the development of complications (death, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation or circulatory shock), and the need for home oxygen therapy (HOT) was assessed at/after discharge.Thirty-two patients (64%) had RVD at admission, 6 (12%) developed a complicated clinical course, and 7 (14%) required HOT. Plasma BNP was significantly higher in patients with RVD (median value, 319.3 versus 50.5 pg/mL, P = 0.001). Plasma BNP was also significantly higher (median value, 1307.9 versus 102.6 pg/mL, P = 0.02) and arterial pH significantly lower (acidic) (median value, 7.371 versus 7.438, P = 0.008) in patients who developed a complicated clinical course. In addition, plasma BNP was also significantly higher in patients who required HOT (median value, 505.1 versus 91.1 pg/mL, P = 0.02). Plasma BNP at admission is not only a reliable marker of RVD and predictor of short-term prognosis, but also a predictor of long-term respiratory prognosis in acute PE patients.

Delay and misdiagnosis in sub-massive and non-massive acute pulmonary embolism

BACKGROUND

There is limited information about the extent and clinical importance of the delay in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between 1998 and 2009, all consecutive patients diagnosed of acute pulmonary embolism from a registry of a single department were evaluated. We recorded the start or shift in symptoms as the beginning of pulmonary embolism and the mistaken diagnosis for which the patients had been treated. We evaluated the factors associated with the delay and misdiagnosis and their relation with mortality.

RESULTS

Overall 375 patients were evaluated. Median age was 75 years, interquartile range (IQR) 15, and female 186 (49%). Median delay was 6 (IQR 12) days. Median Wells score was 4.5 (IQR 3). Delay in diagnosis was longer than 6 days in 50% (95% CI 44-55) of patients, longer than 14 days in 25% (95% CI 21-30) and longer than 21 days in 10% (95% CI 7-13). Misdiagnosis occurred in 50% (95% CI 44-55) of patients. Higher age, more days of delay and the absence of syncope or sudden onset dyspnea were factors associated with misdiagnosis. Follow-up was carried out in 331 patients during a median of 31 (IQR 45) months. 36% (95% CI 33-43) of patients died [median 8 (IQR 29) months]. Higher age, misdiagnosis and a history of cancer were factors associated with mortality. Days of delay were not associated with mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Delay and misdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism is frequent. Elderly patients and the absence of syncope or sudden onset dyspnea favour the misdiagnosis. Delay in diagnosis does not participate in mortality.

Routinely-feasible multiple biomarkers score to predict prognosis after revascularized STEMI

INTRODUCTION

We assessed the long-term prognostic value of an easy-to-do multiple cardiac biomarkers score after a revascularized acute myocardial infarction (MI) in order to evaluate a multimarker approach to risk stratification, based on routine biomarkers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Blood samples from 138 patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction and successfully treated by primary coronary intervention (with TIMI 3 flow) were subsequently tested for creatinin level at admittance and then BNP, hsCRP, troponin I from Day 0 to day 7. The primary endpoint was a clinical evaluation comprising: new hospitalization for cardiac reasons, acute coronary events (acute coronary syndrome), and death.

RESULTS

During the median follow-up period of 11.01 months [9.44-12.59], 47 events were recorded. All the following markers were able to predict events: creatinemia on admission (p=0.0057), CRP on day 3 (p, troponin I on day 1 (p<0.001), BNP (p<0.0001) and biological multimarker score (p<0.0001). Clinical events were predicted with a hazard ratio (HR) of respectively 3.30 [2.88-12.30] in BNP Q4 as compared to the three lower quartiles (Q1-3), and 3.15 [2.75-21.00] for the Multimarker approach. The multimarker score was not significantly better than BNP on day 1 alone (p=0.77), troponin on day 1 alone (p=0.43), creatininemia on admission (p=0.19) or CRPhs on day 3 alone (p=0.054). Nevertheless, the Multimarker approach leads to the selection of a smaller, hence more manageable, high-risk population (13% versus 25%).

CONCLUSION

Among 138 subjects admitted for acute MI, and all successfully revascularized, a routinely multimarker approach with BNP, hsCRP, creatininemia, troponin I, is feasible. BNP is the most powerful marker, and this multimarker approach renders additional prognostic information helping to identify patients with high-risk to clinical events.

Prognostic stratification of acute pulmonary embolism: focus on clinical aspects, imaging, and biomarkers

Pulmonary embolism (PE) represents a common disease in emergency medicine and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment have had wide diffusion. However, PE morbidity and mortality remain high, especially when associated to hemodynamic instability or right ventricular dysfunction. Prognostic stratification to identify high risk patients needing to receive more aggressive pharmacological and closer monitoring is of utmost importance. Modern guidelines for management of acute PE are based on risk stratification using either clinical, radiological, or laboratory findings. This article reviews the modern treatment of acute PE, which is customized upon patient prognosis. Accordingly the current risk stratification tools described in the literature such as clinical scores, echocardiography, helical computer tomography, and biomarkers will be reviewed.

Differential diagnosis of acute dyspnea: the value of B natriuretic peptides in the emergency department

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the main cause of acute dyspnea in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a polypeptide, released by ventricular myocytes in direct proportion to wall tension, which lowers renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation. For the diagnosis of CHF, both BNP and the biologically inactive NT-proBNP have similar accuracy. Threshold values are higher in an elderly population, and in patients with renal dysfunction. They might also have a prognostic value. Studies have demonstrated that the use of BNP or NT-proBNP in dyspneic patients early following admission to the ED, reduced the time to discharge and total treatment cost. BNP and NT-proBNP should be available in every ED 24 h a day, because the literature strongly suggests the beneficial impact of an early appropriate diagnosis and treatment in dyspneic patients. The purpose of this review is to indicate recent developments in biomarkers of heart failure and to evaluate their impact on clinical use in the emergency setting.

Pulmonary embolism in the elderly: a review on clinical, instrumental and laboratory presentation

Objective

Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) remains difficult and is often missed in the elderly due to nonspecific and atypical presentation. Diagnostic algorithms able to rule out PE and validated in young adult patients may have reduced applicability in elderly patients, which increases the number of diagnostic tools use and costs. The aim of the present study was to analyze the reported clinical presentation of PE in patients aged 65 and more.

Materials and Methods

Prospective and retrospective English language studies dealing with the clinical, instrumental and laboratory aspects of PE in patients more than 65 and published after January 1987 and indexed in MEDLINE using keywords as pulmonary embolism, elderly, old, venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the title, abstract or text, were reviewed.

Results

Dyspnea (range 59%–91.5%), tachypnea (46%–74%), tachycardia (29%–76%), and chest pain (26%–57%) represented the most common clinical symptoms and signs. Bed rest was the most frequent risk factor for VTE (15%–67%); deep vein thrombosis was detected in 15%–50% of cases. Sinus tachycardia, right bundle branch block, and ST-T abnormalities were the most frequent ECG findings. Abnormalities of chest X-ray varied (less than 50% in one-half of the studies and more than 70% in the other one-half). Arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoxemia and mild hypocapnia as the main findings. D-Dimer was higher than cut-off in 100% of patients in 75% of studies. Clinical usefulness of D-Dimer measurement decreases with age, although the strategies based on D-Dimer seem to be cost-effective at least until 80 years.

Conclusion

Despite limitations due to pooling data of heterogeneous studies, our review could contribute to the knowledge of the presentation of PE in the elderly with its diagnostic difficulties. A diagnostic strategy based on reviewed data is proposed.

Prognostic value of brain natriuretic peptide in acute pulmonary embolism

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) increase in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and the increase in mortality and morbidity has frequently been suggested in small studies but its global prognostic performance remains largely undefined. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of data to examine the prognostic value of elevated BNP for short-term all-cause mortality and serious adverse events.

METHODS

The authors reviewed PubMed, BioMed Central, and the Cochrane database and conducted a manual review of article bibliographies. Using a prespecified search strategy, we included a study if it used BNP or N-terminal pro-BNP biomarkers as a diagnostic test in patients with documented PE and if it reported death, the primary endpoint of the meta-analysis, in relation to BNP testing. Studies were excluded if they were performed in patients without certitude of PE or in a subset of patients with cardiogenic shock. Twelve relevant studies involving a total of 868 patients with acute PE at baseline were included in the meta-analysis using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Elevated BNP levels were significantly associated with short-term all-cause mortality (odds ratio [OR] 6.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.11 to 13.91), with death resulting from PE (OR 6.10, 95% CI 2.58 to 14.25), and with serious adverse events (OR 7.47, 95% CI 4.20 to 13.15). The corresponding positive and negative predictive values for death were 14% (95% CI 11% to 18%) and 99% (95% CI 97% to 100%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis indicates that, while elevated BNP levels can help to identify patients with acute PE at high risk of death and adverse outcome events, the high negative predictive value of normal BNP levels is certainly more useful for clinicians to select patients with a likely uneventful follow-up.

B-type natriuretic peptide in acute pulmonary embolism

Myocardial stretch leads to the natriuretic peptides release in acute or chronic left ventricular dysfunction. However, there is an accumulating evidence that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal fragment (NT-proBNP) may originate from right ventricle and their concentrations are elevated in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) especially when resulting in right ventricular dysfunction (RVD). Recently it is underlined that severity assessment of APE as well as the risk stratification and therapy selection is based both on patients' hemodynamic status and markers of myocardial injury and RVD. BNP and NT-proBNP are helpful in identifying patients with RVD in APE, emerging as an adjunctive tool to echocardiography. Elevated BNP or NT-proBNP levels are also significant predictors of death and/or complicated clinical course in APE.

Brain-type natriuretic peptide levels in the prediction of adverse outcome in patients with pulmonary embolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

RATIONALE

The potential role of elevated brain-type natriuretic peptides (BNP) in the differentiation of patients suffering from acute pulmonary embolism at risk for adverse clinical outcome has not been fully established.

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the relation between elevated BNP or N-terminal-pro-BNP (NT-pro-BNP) levels and clinical outcome in patients with pulmonary embolism.

METHODS

Articles reporting on studies that evaluated the risk of adverse outcome in patients with pulmonary embolism and elevated BNP or NT-pro-BNP levels were abstracted from Medline and EMBASE. Information on study design, patient and assay characteristics, and clinical outcome was extracted. Primary endpoints were overall mortality and predefined composite outcome of adverse clinical events.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Data from 13 studies were included. In 51% (576/1,132) of the patients, BNP or NT-pro-BNP levels were increased. The different analyses were performed in subpopulations. Elevated levels of BNP or NT-pro-BNP were significantly associated with right ventricular dysfunction (P < 0.001). Patients with high BNP or NT-pro-BNP concentration were at higher risk of complicated in-hospital course (odds ratio [OR], 6.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4-10) and 30-day mortality (OR, 7.6; 95% CI, 3.4-17). Patients with a high NT-pro-BNP had a 10% risk of dying (68/671; 95% CI, 8.0-13%), whereas 23% (209/909; 95% CI, 20-26%) had an adverse clinical outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

High concentrations of BNP distinguish patients with pulmonary embolism at higher risk of complicated in-hospital course and death from those with low BNP levels. Increased BNP or NT-pro-BNP concentrations alone, however, do not justify more invasive treatment regimens.

Useulness of B Natriuretic Peptides and Procalcitonin in Emergency Medicine

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the main cause of acute dyspnea in patients presented to an emergency department (ED), and it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a polypeptide, released by ventricular myocytes directly proportional to wall tension, for lowering renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation. For diagnosing CHF, both BNP and the biologically inactive NT-proBNP have similar accuracy. Threshold values are higher in elderly population, and in patients with renal dysfunction. They might have also a prognostic value. Studies demonstrated that the use of BNP or NT-proBNP in dyspneic patients early in the ED reduced the time to discharge, total treatment cost. BNP and NT-proBNP should be available in every ED 24 hours a day, because literature strongly suggests the beneficial impact of an early appropriate diagnosis and treatment in dyspneic patients.

Etiologic diagnosis of febrile patients who present to an ED is complex and sometimes difficult. However, new evidence showed that there are interventions (including early appropriate antibiotics), which could reduce mortality rate in patients with sepsis. For diagnosing sepsis, procalcitonin (PCT) is more accurate than C-reactive protein. Thus, because of its excellent specificity and positive predictive value, an elevated PCT concentration (higher than 0.5 ng/mL) indicates ongoing and potentially severe systemic infection, which needs early antibiotics (e.g. meningitis). In lower respiratory tract infections, CAP or COPD exacerbation, PCT guidance reduced total antibiotic exposure and/or antibiotic treatment duration.

Intérêt du dosage des peptides natriurétiques en urgence

OBJECTIVES

Acute dyspnea is frequent in emergency medicine. The B-type natriuretic peptide is a polypeptide, released by ventricular myocytes directly proportional to wall tension, for lowering renin-angiotensin-aldosterone activation. Conversely, NT-proBNP has no physiological activity. BNP and NT-proBNP concentration closely correlate to various indicators of heart failure.

CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND KEY POINTS

Numerous studies have demonstrated high usefulness of BNP and NT-proBNP to diagnose heart failure, which is the main cause of acute dyspnea in emergency medicine. The diagnostic accuracy of BNP and NT-proBNP seems similar, and is higher than that of the emergency physician. Bedside dosages are now available, with high sensibility and specificity for the diagnosis of heart failure. For BNP, threshold value is ranging from 100 to 300 pg/ml in patients aged over 65 years; for NT-proBNP the threshold value is 1000 to 2000 pg/ml in elderly patients. Briefly, heart failure is unlikely when BNP is below 100 pg/ml (NT-proBNP<500 pg/ml), and very likely when BNP is higher than 400 pg/ml (or NT-proBNP>2000 pg/ml).

FUTURE PROJECTS

Early rapid measurement of BNP could improved the evaluation and treatment of patients with acute dyspnea and reduce the total cost of treatment.