C-reactive protein and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide as biomarkers in acute exacerbations of COPD leading to hospitalizations

What Was Tested

This observational study looks at BNP (Nesiritide).

In this study, the researchers sought to determine the discriminatory power of blood C-reactive protein (CRP) and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in the diagnosis of AECOPD requiring hospitalizations.

Why It Was Studied

There are currently no accepted and validated blood tests available for diagnosing acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).

The study cohort consisted of 468 patients recruited in the COPD Rapid Transition Program who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of AECOPD, and 110 stable COPD patients who served as controls.

Who Took Part

The study group was 468 patients.

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

Performance was assessed using an independent validation set of patients who were not included in the discovery set.

What Was Measured

There are currently no accepted and validated blood tests available for diagnosing acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).

The study cohort consisted of 468 patients recruited in the COPD Rapid Transition Program who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of AECOPD, and 110 stable COPD patients who served as controls.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Biomarkers, C-Reactive Protein, Cohort Studies, Hospitalization, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain, Peptide Fragments and Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of BNP (Nesiritide) in 468 patients.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2017 (PloS one), a journal based in United States.

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