| Clinical Investigation of pro-BNP in Hepatic Cirrhosis Patients in an Emergency Department |
| Suk Woo Lee, Hoon Kim, Jung Soo Park |
| Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea. drrhec@chungbuk.ac.kr |
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| ABSTRACT |
PURPOSE:
Cardiac dysfunction may be present in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. This study was performed to evaluate the plasma concentration of pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (pro-BNP), a marker of severity of hepatic cirrhosis and cardiac dysfunction.
METHODS:
We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 85 patients who had been diagnosed with hepatic cirrhosis and admitted through the emergency department. Circulating levels of pro-BNP, Child-Pugh class and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score were determined.
RESULTS:
Plasma pro-BNP levels were significantly increased in cirrhotic patients with ascites or heart failure (p=0.000, p=0.000, respectively) but not in patients with encephalopathy or gastrointestinal bleeding (p=0.396, p=0.059, respectively). Circulating pro-BNP levels were closely correlated with SOFA scores (r=0.331, p=0.002) and correlated with Modified Child-Pugh classification scores (r=0.273, p=0.033). The SOFA score is an easily applied tool with good prognostic abilities, but pro-BNP and Child-Pugh class can also be used to enhance clinical judgment of prognosis.
CONCLUSION:
Increased pro-BNP levels are likely related to the severity of disease in hepatic cirrhosis. Advanced cirrhosis is associated with advanced cardiac dysfunction and pro-BNP has prognostic value for cirrhosis. |
| Key words:
Liver cirrhosis, Pro-brain natriuretic peptide |
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