Brain natriuretic peptide for diagnosis of heart failure in patients receiving chronic hemodialysis* (*Continuation of article published in magazine "Heart failure", 2007; 4 (42):184-186.)
Urgency. Diagnostics of CHF in patients with chronic renal disease (CRD) receiving programmed hemodialysis is difficult because of symptom similarity in these diseases. Aim. Studying a possibility of using the level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for detection of CHF in patients with CRD on chronic hemodialysis. Materials and methods. Fifty-two patients with CRD were evaluated. Clinico-functional parameters of CHF and levels of BNP were studied. Results. Clinico-laboratory signs of CHF were found in 85% of patients with significantly higher than normal levels of BNP compared to those in patients without CHF. Levels of BNP increased as CHF progressed. The data obtained evidence that levels of BNP>100 pg/ml may be used as an additional diagnostic test for CHF in patients with CRD receiving chronic hemodialysis.