ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Circulating levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) have been used to identify and monitor myocardial dysfunction in patients with various cardiac diseases. However, its clinical significance in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) is uncertain because NT-proBNP clearance may be affected by renal function. METHODS: We studied 331 patients with CRF (eGFR 0.01) was strong independent correlate of NT-proBNP, eGFR (beta=-0.358, p0.01) and diastolic dysfunction 2 or higher (beta=0.171, p< 0.05) were also independent correlates of NT-proBNP. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses demonstrated NT-proBNP to be 75% sensitive and 76% specific for the detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction, as indicated by area under the ROC curve of 0.78 (p<0.05), with NT-proBNP cutoff concentration of 25,000 pg/mL. CONCLUSION: Circulating NT-proBNP levels increased with declining renal function. However, its level were significantly correlated with LVH, systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with CRF. The measurement of NT-proBNP levels might be useful to predict left ventricular dysfunction in patients with CRF.