Short-term add-on therapy with angiotensin receptor blocker for end-stage inotrope-dependent heart failure patients: B-type natriuretic peptide reduction in a randomized clinical trial

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of BNP (Nesiritide), published as a randomized controlled trial.

The researchers aimed to evaluate angiotensin receptor blocker add-on therapy in patients with low cardiac output during decompensated heart failure.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

The researchers selected patients with decompensated heart failure, low cardiac output, dobutamine dependence, and an ejection fraction <0.45 who were receiving an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor.

The patients were randomized to losartan or placebo and underwent invasive hemodynamic and B-type natriuretic peptide measurements at baseline and on the seventh day after intervention.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Because people in this BNP (Nesiritide) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind BNP (Nesiritide) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with BNP (Nesiritide) could be set against what happens without it.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers, Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists, Cardiac Output, Low, Dobutamine, Heart Failure, Hemodynamics and Losartan.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of BNP (Nesiritide).

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2014 (Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)), a journal based in United States.

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