The impact of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide testing on hospital length of stay and morbidity in patients with acute decompensated heart failure

Abstract Context.—In clinical trials, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) testing has been shown to be valuable for diagnosis and triage of patients with acute decompensated heart failure. It is not yet clear what benefits might be expected from the initiation of NT-proBNP testing in an everyday clinical setting. Objective.—To determine the effects of NT-proBNP testing on hospital length of stay as well as on 60-day morbidity and mortality in patients with acute decompensated heart failure before and after the test was implemented in the clinical laboratory. Design.—We measured hospital length of stay and 60-day morbidity and mortality rates among patients with acute decompensated heart failure admitted before and after initiation of NT-proBNP testing in our hospital. Differences in demographics between preimplementation and postimplementation groups were compared with the χ2 test for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables. Comparison between the hos...