Multimarker strategy for risk prediction in patients presenting with acute dyspnea to the emergency department

Background: Multimarker approaches improve risk prediction in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome. We hypothesized that simultaneous assessment of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), cardiac troponin I (cTNI) and C-reactive protein (CRP) enables clinicians to better predict risk among patients with acute dyspnea presenting to the emergency department. Methods and results: In this post-hoc analysis of the B-Type natriuretic peptide for Acute Shortness of Breath Evaluation (BASEL) study, above biomarkers were available in 305 patients. Death occurred in 123 (40%) patients within 24 months of follow-up. Using prospectively defined cutoff points (BNP > 100 pg/mL; cTNI > 0.8 mu g/L; CRP > 5 mg/L) and categorizing patients by the number of elevated cardiac biomarkers, the 24 months risk of death increased in proportion to the number of cardiac biomarkers elevated (p < 0.001 for trend). Elevated biomarkers significantly predicted increased risk of death at 24 months of follow-up in univariate Cox models (BNP: RR 4.78, 95% CI: 2.51-9.14; p < 0.001; cTNI: RR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.61-3.26, p < 0.001; CRP: RR 1.98, 95% CI: 1.28-3.08; p = 0.002). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that elevated levels of BNP (p < 0.001) and TNI levels (p < 0.002) indicated increased risk of death during long-term follow-up, while only a statistical trend was seen for elevated CRP (p = 0.09). Comparably, risk of death or rehospitalization significantly increased with the number of elevated biomarkers. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a simple multimarker approach with simultaneous assessment of BNP, and cTNI demonstrates potential to assist clinicians in predicting risk of death and/or rehospitalization in patients presenting with acute dyspnea in the emergency department. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.