Utility of Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Chronic Heart Failure Using an Express Test for Semi-Quantitative Determination of NT-proBNP Levels

Aim. To evaluate the accuracy of a rapid test for semi-quantitative determination of NT-proBNP levels in the diagnosis of CHF in comparison with quantitative assessment; to study the strength of the association of the results of this NT-proBNP test with indicators of the CHF severity.
Material and methods. The concentration of NT-proBNP was determined in 44 patients at bedside both semi-quantitatively using an express test (BioTest, Novosibirsk) and quantitatively in a laboratory. In 11 patients, the severity of CHF was assessed with the CHF Clinical Status Scale (CSS). Echocardiography was performed in all patients.
Results. The sensitivity of the quantitative and semi-quantitative tests coincided and was 95%. The specificity of the quantitative test was 100% in our study, whereas the semi-quantitative test showed a specificity of 92%. The negative predictive value of either test was 96%. The diagnostic accuracy was 98% and 93%, respectively. In patients with significantly high NT-proBNP concentrations, the semi-quantitative test demonstrated a reduced ability to verify values above 1800 pg/ml; in patients with threshold concentrations, the semi-quantitative test showed an increased subthreshold sensitivity. Increases in the NT-proBNP concentration correlated with the severity of CHF according to the stage of the disease.
Conclusion. Due to the sufficiently high sensitivity, specificity, ease of use, and speed of obtaining results, the rapid test for semi-quantitative measuring NT-proBNP is promising for outpatient screening bedside diagnosis of CHF and in the emergency room to confirm or exclude CHF. When determining the dynamics of NT-proBNP during the treatment of CHF, the use of the semi-quantitative rapid test with visual assessment of the results may produce an error compared to the quantitative assessment, which will probably not allow tracking the effect of therapy or predicting exacerbation of the disease.

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