natriuretic-peptide--brain and Hematologic-Diseases

Previous therapy with anthracyclines (ANT) and conditioning regimen followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) represents a high risk for development of cardiotoxicity. The aim of this study was to assess subclinical myocardial damage after HSCT using echocardiography and cardiac biomarkers--high sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and to identify patients at risk of developing clinical cardiotoxicity.. Thirty-seven patients who were treated with allogeneic HSCT for hematologic diseases at median age of 28 years at time of HSCT were studied. Conditioning regimen included either chemotherapy without total body irradiation (TBI) or combination of chemotherapy with TBI. Twenty-nine (78.3%) patients were pretreated with ANT therapy. Cardiac biomarkers were serially measured before conditioning regimen and at days 1, 14 and 30 after HSCT. Cardiac systolic and diastolic functions were assessed before conditioning regimen and 1 month after HSCT by echocardiography.. The changes in plasma NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT levels during the 30 days following the HSCT were statistically significant (P < 0.01 v.s. P < 0.01). Persistent elevations of NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT simultaneously for a period exceeding 14 days after HSCT were found in 29.7% patients. Serum concentrations of cardiomarkers were significantly elevated in ANT group compared to non-ANT group. These observations were underscored by the echocardiographic studies which did reveal significant changes in systolic and diastolic parameters. Five of 37 (13.5%) patients developed clinical manifestation of cardiotoxicity.. Elevations in both cardiac biomarkers were found before clinical signs of cardiotoxicity developed. Persistent elevations in NT-pro-BNP and hs-cTnT concentrations simultaneously for a period exceeding 14 days might be used for identification of patients at risk of developing cardiotoxicity and requiring further cardiological follow up.

Topics: Adult; Anthracyclines; Behavior Therapy; Biomarkers; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hematologic Diseases; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Male; Myocardium; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; Peptide Fragments; Transplantation, Homologous; Troponin T

Serum amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is considered as a prognostic marker in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, but no data are available on NT-proBNP kinetics in hematological patients with neutropenic fever. Altogether 70 hematological patients with neutropenic fever were included in this prospective study. NT-proBNP and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined at the beginning of the neutropenic fever (d0) and then daily up to 3-4 days. The median NT-proBNP (interquartile range) increased from 127 (57-393) ng/L on d0 to 542 (194-1385) ng/L on d4. The increment of CRP was from 35 (17-61) mg/L on d0 to 109 (56-109) mg/L on d2. Neither serial NT-proBNP nor CRP predicted development of severe sepsis, but NT-proBNP was significantly higher in patients with previous cardiovascular disease than in those without. NT-proBNP seemed to reflect cardiac distress, but it did not help to predict the development of severe sepsis in this patient group.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers; C-Reactive Protein; Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Fever; Hematologic Diseases; Humans; Kinetics; Male; Middle Aged; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; Neutropenia; Peptide Fragments; Predictive Value of Tests; Prospective Studies; Sepsis; Young Adult

Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) can be difficult to diagnose and distinguish from transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), but is a relatively common complication that occurs when increases in blood volume overwhelm the cardiovascular system. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been shown to be a functional marker for TACO. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is another marker that could be more helpful than BNP since it has a longer half-life in circulation and is also much more stable in laboratory samples. In this study, whether NT-proBNP is a useful diagnostic marker for TACO was evaluated.. Forty patients were enrolled into a case-control study (16 patients with TACO and 24 control patients) and had pre- and posttransfusion NT-proBNP concentrations evaluated from submitted type-and-screen blood samples.. The sensitivity of elevated posttransfusion NT-proBNP to diagnose TACO was 93.8 percent, the specificity was 83.8 percent, and the accuracy was 87.5 percent. Elevated posttransfusion NT-proBNP is the only independent variable for the diagnosis of TACO based on multivariate logistic regression.. NT-proBNP is both a sensitive and a specific marker for TACO and can be helpful in confirming transfusion associated fluid overload. This study also demonstrates that many patients who experience TACO may already be in a state of excess volume. Clinicians should be aware that many asymptomatic patients have excess fluid and transfusion may cause these patients to become symptomatic.

Topics: Biomarkers; Blood Circulation; Female; Hematologic Diseases; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; Peptide Fragments; ROC Curve; Transfusion Reaction