Practical use of natriuretic peptide measurement: questionnaire results from general practitioners and cardiologists

Abstract

Aims: To elucidate the knowledge regarding B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)/N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) measurement among doctors using this biomarker. Materials & methods: We performed a questionnaire-based study on the use of BNP/NT-proBNP measurement among doctors; 21 general practitioners and 23 randomly chosen doctors at cardiology departments were interviewed. Results: 12 general practitioners (57%) answered ‘yes’, eight (38%) answered ‘no’ and one (5%) was ‘undecided’ for use of BNP/NT-proBNP measurement to exclude a diagnosis of heart failure. Among cardiologists, 11 (48%) answered ‘yes’, ten (43%) answered ‘no’ and two (9%) were ‘undecided’ (no difference between groups, p = 0.56). The majority of doctors were familiar with BNP/NT-proBNP being affected by age but were unaware of the impact of gender and obesity. Conclusion: We propose that BNP/NT-proBNP measurement results should be supplied with age- and gender-related cut-off values, along with a notion of the negative predictive value and other parameters affecting the concentration in plasma.