Left ventricular dysfunction screening in hypertensive patients with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and electrocardiogram.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Early recognition of left ventricular hypertrophy is important because antihypertensive treatment decreases morbidity and mortality. The ideal screening method for left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive emergency department (ED) patients has not been identified. Our objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracies of electrocardiogram (ECG) and N-terminal Pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (pro-BNP) for left ventricular hypertrophy individually and in combination in hypertensive ED patients. METHODS: Prospective diagnostic study in an academic urban tertiary care hospital ED with annual census of 65,000 visits. Inclusion criteria are as follows: adult ED patients with systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 160 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 100 mm Hg on 2 or more measurements taken 60 minutes apart. Exclusion criteria are as follows: patients with heart failure, renal insufficiency/failure, acute myocardial infarction, or without recent or scheduled echocardiograms. All patients received echocardiograms and had pro-BNP levels measured using a RAMP point-of-care device (Response Biomedical, Vancouver, BC, Canada). We calculated diagnostic test characteristics with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 49 patients were enrolled. The average age was 57.9 years, 26.5% were male, and 63.3% were African American. Thirty-two patients (65%) had left ventricular hypertrophy by echocardiogram. Twenty-one (43%) had ECG evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy. Median pro-BNP level was 268 pg/mL. The combination of the 2 tests provided the greatest specificity (94%; 95% CI, 69%-99.7%) and positive predictive value (94%; 95% CI, (68%-99.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of ECG and pro-BNP is a promising screening algorithm for identification of hypertensive ED patients with left ventricular hypertrophy.

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Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1016/j.ajem.2010.11.021

Publication Info

Limkakeng, Alexander T, Weiying Drake, Giselle Mani, Debbie Freeman, Randall Best, L Kristin Newby and Abhinav Chandra (2012). Left ventricular dysfunction screening in hypertensive patients with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and electrocardiogram. Am J Emerg Med, 30(1). pp. 214–217. 10.1016/j.ajem.2010.11.021 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12528.

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Scholars@Duke

Limkakeng

Alexander Tan Limkakeng

Professor of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Alexander T. Limkakeng, Jr., MD, MHSc, FACEP is a Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Director of the Acute Care Research Team, and Director of the Resident Research Fellowship for the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

 

Dr. Limkakeng has served as chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Research Committee, and been the Course Director of the ACEP Research Forum from 2016-2018, the largest emergency medical research platform in the nation. He is also the Assistant Director of ACEP’s Emergency Medicine Basic Research Skills course. He was elected to the Nominating Committee of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine.

 

As a researcher, Dr. Limkakeng has led multiple clinical trials and interdepartmental sponsored projects and is author on over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. These include studies in emergency conditions such as COVID-19, traumatic brain injury, hypertension, heart failure, thrombosis, stroke, envenomations, and septic shock. His research has been funded by grants totaling over $5 million dollars. He has lectured internationally on acute coronary syndrome, responsible conduct of research, design of clinical trials, and precision medicine in emergency care.  He has led Duke’s involvement in NIH-funded research networks and industry-funded work that led to FDA approval for multiple high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays. He now serves as Co-PI for the Duke U24 Hub in the NIH Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) (1U24NS114416) and a co-PI on the Duke U24 Hub award (1U24NS129498) in the NIH Strategies to Innovate Emergency Care Clinical Trials (SIREN) Network.


His personal research interest is finding new ways to diagnose acute coronary syndrome. In particular, he is interested in novel biomarkers and precision medicine approaches to this problem. The common element throughout this work is a focus on time-sensitive health conditions.
Newby

Laura Kristin Newby

Professor of Medicine

Research Description

General Focus: Clinical investigation the process and treatment of acute and chronic coronary artery disease and systems issues for delivery of care to patients with these illnesses. Particular interests include management of patients with chest pain and unstable angina, evaluation of the use of biochemical markers other than CK-MB for diagnosis and risk stratification in these patients, issues related to coronary artery disease in women, and systems issues regarding optimizing the process of delivery of care to patients with acute and chronic coronary artery disease. Finally, I have a strong interest in defining the genetic contribution to development of coronary artery disease.


Key words: coronary artery disease acute myocardial infarction unstable angina chest pain women biochemical markers risk stratification genetics


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