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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 16
| Issue : 4 | Page : 726 |
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Opinions about the use of brain natriuretic peptide among acute ischemic stroke patients
Zhixin Wu1, Mingfeng He1, Shaoru Gao2, Lianhong Yang3
1 Department of Emergency, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
2 Department of Nursing, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
3 Department of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat sen University, Guangzhou, China
| Date of Web Publication | 25-Oct-2013 |
Correspondence Address:
Zhixin Wu
Department of Emergency, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 6# Qinren Road, Foshan - 528 000, Guangdong
China
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0972-2327.120428
How to cite this article:
Wu Z, He M, Gao S, Yang L. Opinions about the use of brain natriuretic peptide among acute ischemic stroke patients. Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2013;16:726 |
Sir,
We read with interest the article by Zeynep Cakir and colleagues on brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in stroke or hypertension patients, [1] and wish to share a few opinions about the use of BNP among acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients in the Emergency Department (ED).
At present, the use of plasma biomarkers during the point of care testing (POCT) is getting increasing popular in the ED. A lot of published studies show that BNP levels are significantly elevated and might be of clinical importance as a supplementary tool for the assessment of cardiovascular function in patients with AIS. [2],[3],[4] In Dr. Zeynep Cakir and colleagues' study, stroke patients with other diseases such as congestive heart failure, severe valvular heart disease, atrial fibrillation (AF), and so on were excluded. [1] Hence, the including patients in group I and II could not be representative of the classical stroke types and may be a serious bias in their study.
In our opinion, we had better include the participants with mild and moderate cardiovascular function in the study design. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association stroke guidelines, the patients with AIS were divided into five subtypes according to the trial of ORG 10172 in acute stroke treatment criteria (TOAST). [5] However, Dr. Zeynep Cakir and colleagues did not classify the AIS patients into any subtypes. And they may ignore a lot of stroke patients with the cardioembolic (CE) subtype, which is one of the important stroke subtypes due to high risks and poor long-term outcome including death.
According to evidence-based recommendations, we should pay attention to the AIS patients with high BNP level. And several studies have reported that the value of the use of BNP in AIS patients as follows: (1) BNP has been shown to be an independent predictor of the mortality and myocardial infarction in stoke patients. [3] (2) BNP is strongly associated with cardioembolic stroke and functional outcome at 6 months after ischemic stroke. [6] (3) Elevated plasma BNP levels can be a potential marker of the presence of left atrial sources of emboli in ischemic stroke patients. [2],[4] (4) The measurement of plasma BNP on admission could also predict the development of AF after admission. [2]
We also made further study about the use of BNP among AIS in the ED. In our study; age, previous cardiac disease, AF, length of hospital stays, Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) score on admission ≤25 and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≥3 or death at discharge were all significantly higher in the CE patients compared to other stroke etiologic subtypes according to TOAST criteria (P < 0.01). And by using Biostie Triage® BNP POCT platform, emergency physicians should strongly consider CE subtype with the plasma BNP level of over 66.50 pg/ml. [7] However, the cut-off values of BNP are different in several studies and need further validation. [2],[3],[4],[7]
 References | |  |
| 1. | Cakir Z, Saritas A, Emet M, Aslan S, Akoz A, Gundogdu F. A prospective study of brain natriuretic peptide levels in three subgroups: Stroke with hypertension, stroke without hypertension, and hypertension alone. Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2010;13:47-51. 
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| 2. | Okada Y, Shibazaki K, Kimura K, Matsumoto N, Iguchi Y, Aoki J, et al. Brain natriuretic peptide is a marker associated with thrombus in stroke patients with atrial fibrillation. J Neurol Sci 2011;301:86-9.
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| 3. | Rost NS, Biffi A, Cloonan L, Chorba J, Kelly P, Greer D, et al. Brain natriuretic peptide predicts functional outcome in ischemic stroke. Stroke 2012;43:441-5.
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| 4. | Di Angelantonio E, De Castro S, Toni D, Sacchetti ML, Biraschi F, Prencipe M, et al. Determinants of plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide after acute ischemic stroke or TIA. J Neurol Sci 2007;260:139-42.
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| 5. | Furie KL, Kasner SE, Adams RJ, Albers GW, Bush RL, Fagan SC, et al. Guidelines for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack: A guideline for healthcare professionals from the American heart association/American stroke association. Stroke 2011;42:227-76.
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| 6. | Jensen JK, Atar D, Kristensen SR, Mickley H, Januzzi JL Jr. Usefulness of natriuretic peptide testing for long-term risk assessment following acute ischemic stroke. Am J Cardiol 2009;104:287-91.
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| 7. | Zhixin W, Lianhong Y, Wei H, Lianda L, Longyuan J, Yingjian Z, et al. The value of the use of plasma β-type natriuretic peptide among acute ischemic stroke patients in a Chinese emergency department. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2013;115:1671-6
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| This article has been cited by | | 1 |
Experiences and the use of BNP POCT platform on suspected ischemic stroke patients in the emergency department setting |
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| Zhixin Wu,Lianhong Yang,Qihong Guo,Mingfeng He,Kuangyi Li | | Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. 2014; | | [Pubmed] | [DOI] | |
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