Clinical utility of NT-proBNP levels in late heart transplantation patients

Abstract Background The present work was aimed to describe NT-proBNP levels in heart transplant patients after the first year postsurgery. Methods NT-proBNP concentration was measured in 1231 samples from 142 patients when a routine four-month follow-up was carried out, including other biochemical and clinical examinations. Endomyocardial biopsies were performed only upon clinical suspicion of acute rejection. Results NT-proBNP concentrations were not significantly correlated to post-transplantation time, though differences were observed according to clinical symptoms (Kruskal–Wallis test, p Conclusions After the first year from surgery, NT-proBNP concentrations were not associated to post-transplantation time and NT-proBNP could be a useful diagnostic marker for rejection, whenever serial measurements are made. A NT-proBNP cutoff value of 1000 ng/L was identified for classifying patients at risk of death after one year.