B-type natriuretic peptide: a biomarker for the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with septic shock

What Was Tested

This clinical trial looks at BNP (Nesiritide).

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between BNP levels and the severity of sepsis independent of congestive heart failure.

Why It Was Studied

The importance of cardiomyocyte damage during sepsis has been a recent subject of interest.

The progression of sepsis results in the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines, which act in concert to damage cardiomyocytes and produce cardiac contractile dysfunction.

Who Took Part

The study group was 13 patients.

Forty-nine patients were divided into 3 groups: 13 patients with septic shock, 18 with early sepsis, and 18 age-matched healthy control subjects.

The researchers excluded patients with septic shock who had comorbid conditions (congestive heart failure or renal failure); sepsis severity was determined using the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scoring system.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Biomarkers, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain, Predictive Value of Tests, Risk Assessment and Shock, Septic.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a clinical trial of BNP (Nesiritide) in 13 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 6 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2008 (Archives of surgery (Chicago, Ill. : 1960)), a journal based in United States.

More context: the BNP (Nesiritide) compound page, all human trials.