P-27 B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Testing in Patients with Shortness of Breath in the Emergency Department to Improve Patient Outcome

the control group using standard ED care. The clinicians making the diagnosis had in addition to patients’ presentation and history also access to laboratory tests and chest X-ray. The final diagnosis of HF was determined by one cardiologist and one emergency physician independently reviewing all available information while being blinded to the BNP result. Results: In the control group, the diagnosis of HF had a sensitivity of 65%, a specificity of 92% and an accuracy of 81%. In the BNP group, the diagnosis had a higher sensitivity of 66%, but a lower specificity and accuracy at 90% and 78% respectively. There was no significant difference between the BNP and non BNP groups in any of the measures of accuracy. Conclusion: In the clinical setting of Australian emergency departments, availability of BNP levels do not significantly improve the accuracy of a diagnosis of HF.