NT-proBNP in Acute Dyspnea: Effects on Treatment, Hospitalisation and Costs

NT-proBNP Testing in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Acute Dyspnea: Evaluation of Effects on Treatment, Hospitalisation Rate and Costs

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00410293

Enrollment

500

Registered

2006-12-12

Start date

2004-12-31

Completion date

2006-08-31

Last updated

2006-12-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dyspnea, Heart Failure

Keywords

Heart failure, Diagnostic, Natriuretic peptide, NT-pro B-type natriuretic peptide, Length of stay, Costs

Brief summary

Diagnostic uncertainty in patients with complaints of shortness of breath presenting to the Emergency Department of a hospital may delay treatment and proper care. In patients with shortness of breath due to heart failure increased plasma levels of NT-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) can be demonstrated. The use of NT-proBNP as a biomarker for heart failure in patients presenting to the emergency department with dyspnea might improve care and reduce length of hospital stay. To investigate the effect of NT-proBNP testing on patient care and time to discharge the NT-proBNP test will be randomized. In patients in the study group, the NT-proBNP plasma level is determined at admission and the physician in charge will immediately receive the result of the test. In patients in the control group blood will be sampled but the physician will recieve no information on the NT-proBNP plasma level. In our study we will investigate the effect of introduction of NT-proBNP as biomarker for heart failure on treatment, time to discharge and costs.

Interventions

PROCEDURENT-proBNP testing

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

SINGLE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Age 18 years or older * Acute dyspnea as their most prominent complaint

Exclusion criteria

* Acute dyspnea due to a trauma * Acute dyspnea due to cardiogenic shock * Renal failure requiring dialysis

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Time to discharge	—
Cost of treatment	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Proportion of patients admitted to an intensive or coronary care unit	—
Specialist consultations	—
Duration of stay at the ED	—
Diagnostic investigations	—
Medical treatment	—
Proportion of patients admitted to the hospital	—

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026