Objective

This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of urinary NT-proBNP (NT-proBNP) as a potential noninvasive screening marker for pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Study design

A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Preterm infants (PI) (birthweight <1500 gm and <30 weeks gestational age (GA)) were enrolled. Serial urinary NT-proBNP measurements and echocardiograms (ECHO) were performed at 28, 32, and 36 weeks.

Results

Thirty-six patients were included in the final analysis (BPD-PH group = 6, BPD group = 20, control = 10). Urinary NT-proBNP levels were higher in the BPD-PH group compared with BPD and control groups at all study intervals. A urine NT-proBNP cutoff level of 2345 pg/ml at 28 weeks of GA had a sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 84.2%, respectively, for detection of BPD-PH (AUC 0.816, p = 0.022).

Conclusion

Urinary NT-proBNP measurement is feasible in preterm infants and appears to be a good noninvasive screening tool for PH.

中文翻译：

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尿 NT-proBNP 作为筛查早产儿肺动脉高压的潜在无创生物标志物：一项初步研究

客观的

这项初步研究旨在确定尿 NT-proBNP (NT-proBNP) 作为肺动脉高压 (PH) 潜在无创筛查标志物的可行性。

学习规划

进行了一项前瞻性横断面研究。早产儿 (PI) (出生体重 <1500 gm 和 <30 周胎龄 (GA)) 被纳入研究。在 28、32 和 36 周进行连续尿 NT-proBNP 测量和超声心动图 (ECHO)。

结果

最终分析包括 36 名患者（BPD-PH 组 = 6，BPD 组 = 20，对照组 = 10）。在所有研究时间间隔内，BPD-PH 组的尿 NT-proBNP 水平均高于 BPD 组和对照组。在 GA 28 周时，尿液 NT-proBNP 截止水平为 2345 pg/ml，检测 BPD-PH 的敏感性和特异性分别为 83.3% 和 84.2%（AUC 0.816，p  = 0.022）。

结论

尿 NT-proBNP 测量在早产儿中是可行的，并且似乎是一种很好的 PH 无创筛查工具。