Dynamics of brain natriuretic peptide in critically ill patients with severe sepsis and septic shock

Abstract

Purpose: Changes of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in sepsis and its utility in predicting intensive care unit outcomes remains a conflicting issue. To investigate the changes in plasma levels of BNP in patients with severe sepsis/septic shock and to study the association of BNP levels with the severity of the disease and prognosis of those patients. Methods: Thirty patients with severe sepsis or septic shock were enrolled in our study. BNP measurements and echocardiography were carried out on admission and on 4 th and 7 th days. Blood concentrations of BNP were measured by commercially available assays (Abbott methods). In-hospital mortality and length of stay were recorded multivariate analyses adjusted for acute physiology and chronic health evaluation score II (APACHE II score) was used for mortality prediction. Results: Twenty patients admitted with the diagnosis of severe sepsis and 10 patients with septic shock. The in-hospital mortality was 23.3% (7 patients). Admission BNP was significantly higher in the non-survivors 1123±236.08 versus 592.7±347.1 ( P<0.001). By doing multivariate logestic regression, the predicatable variables for mortality was APACHE II score, BNP, and then EF. Conclusion: BNP concentrations were increased in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock and poor outcome was associated with high BNP levels; thus, it may serve as a useful laboratory marker to predict survival in these patients.

Keywords

• Brain natriuretic peptide
• mortality
• severe sepsis
• septic shock