Urinary NT-proBNP as a potential noninvasive biomarker for screening of pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants: a pilot study

• Published in: Journal of perinatology Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 628 - 632
• Main Authors: Naeem, Buria, Ayub, Adil, Aly, Ashraf M., Malloy, Michael H., Okorodudu, Anthony O., Jain, Sunil K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01-04-2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/308/53/2421; 692/53/2421; Adult; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - urine; Birth weight; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Echocardiography; Feasibility; Female; Gestational age; Health aspects; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension, Pulmonary - diagnosis; Hypertension, Pulmonary - urine; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature - urine; Infant, Premature, Diseases - diagnosis; Infant, Premature, Diseases - urine; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight - urine; Infants; Infants (Premature); Male; Maternal Age; Measurement; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Methods; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - urine; Natriuretic peptides; Neonatal intensive care; Neonates; Newborn babies; Pediatric research; Pediatric Surgery; Pediatrics; Peptide Fragments - urine; Pilot Projects; Premature babies; Premature birth; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Pulmonary hypertension; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; United States
• ISSN: 0743-8346; 1476-5543
• DOI: 10.1038/s41372-019-0581-9

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.