NGAL Evaluation along with BNP in acutely decompensated heart failure at Alere

NGAL Evaluation along with BNP in acutely decompensated heart failure

Prognostic utility of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in patients with acute heart failure:The NGAL EvaLuation Along with B-type NaTriuretic Peptide in acutely decompensated heart failure (GALLANT) trial

Alan Maisel MD, et al.¹ San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Heart failure is often associated with dysfunction of both the heart and kidneys. With the introduction of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) testing, a marker of ventricular stretch, the ability to diagnose acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and to predict subsequent recurrences has improved. However, the diagnosis of kidney injury, a frequent complication in ADHF patients, has relied primarly on rises in serum creatinine which can be delayed and non-specific to renal injury. Furthermore, serum creatinine can be considered only a surrogate marker of kidney injury as it is actually a measure of renal function. As such, there has been a long standing need for better markers of renal injury in order to assess kidney injury in ADHF patients and to better identify which ADHF patients might be at risk for recurrent heart failure events.

Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (pNGAL) is a promising new biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI). While previous studies have demonstrated the utility of pNGAL in predicting and identifying AKI, as well as assessing its severity, the extent to which pNGAL levels can provide information that helps identify heart failure patients at risk for hospital readmission or death has been unknown up until this point.^2,3,4,5,6

To view the full summary and for a full list of references click on the download tab below

Study Purpose

To assess the utility of the Alere Triage^® NGAL Test, alone and in combination with BNP, as an aid to help identify patients admitted to the hospital with ADHF who are at risk for heart failure related events (death, readmission, and additional emergent outpatients visits) following discharge.

To view the full summary and for a full list of references click on the download tab below

Connecting withEmergency Medicine

Product Areas