Measurement of Urinary Amino-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Childhood Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: An Indicator of Clinical Severity?

Abstract

Aim: Prompt diagnosis and determination of the clinical severity and intervention of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) is essential for the prevention and management of life-threatening complications. Laboratory tests do not serve as accurate indicators of clinical severity. Our aim was to evaluate the contribution of urinary amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) concentrations in children with LRTI to clinical assessment in terms of determining clinical severity and the necessity of hospitalization. Materials and Methods: This prospective non-randomised study included a total of 160 patients, aged 0-6 years, diagnosed with LRTI [(group 1=outpatient group (n=108), and (group 2=hospitalized patients (n=52)]. The control group (group 3) was comprised of 46 healthy children. Urinary NT-ProBNP level of each participant was measured by ELISA method. Results: Although not significant, the mean urinary NT-ProBNP level of all patients was higher than that of the control group (p=0.322). When we compared the three groups separately, the highest levels belonged to outpatients whereas hospitalized patients showed slightly lower levels than the control group without any statistical significance (p=0.128). As for newborns (n=16), patients showed higher levels than the controls (p=0.041). P value <0.05 was considered significant. Conclusion: Although urinary NT-ProBNP level tends to increase to some extent in childhood LRTI, this alteration does not seem to be valuable in the prediction of the severity of the disease. We believe that the establishment of further studies including larger series of patients, especially neonates, is warranted.

Keywords

• Child
• lower respiratory tract infection
• amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide
• urine