Brain natriuretic peptide measurements using standard biochemical equipment: Comparisons with conventional immunoassays

Abstract

Background Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an essential cardiac biomarker for diagnosing heart failure and for prognoses in patients with various cardiac diseases. However, measurement requires immunological assays that are not available in every hospital. Recently, a novel BNP kit (Nanopia BNP-A, Sekisui Inc.; BNPn) that uses general-purpose, automated, biochemical analyzers has become commercially available. We assessed how its accuracy and utility compare with those of conventional immunological tests. Methods and results We retrospectively collected 1491 conventional BNP measurements (BNPc), which had been clinically indicated for BNP testing and for which residual samples were still stored in the laboratory. We measured BNP using the novel kit and determined the correlation of BNP levels between the two methods. We also assessed the predictive value of both BNP measurements for major cardiac events (MACEs). The analytical performance of both measuring methods was similar. Log-transformed BNP measured by both methods showed strong correlation (r = 0.92); however, log-transformed BNPn was significantly higher than log-transformed BNPc (pConclusions A new BNP measurement using biochemical equipment provides prognostic value similar to that of conventional BNP analysis; thus, it should prove useful in hospitals in which conventional immunological examinations are not available.