Screening value of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as a predictor of perioperative cardiac events after noncardiac surgery

Preoperative cardiac risk assessment is the cornerstone of rationale perioperative management that guides invasive surgical interventions. In addition to clinical risk factors, a simple screening biomarker would be useful for identifying those surgical patients who might benefit from additional cardiac testing or therapeutic interventions. Preoperative plasma levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are predictors of cardiac events after noncardiac surgery. NT-proBNP is synthesized in the ventricular myocardium in response to ventricular wall stress. To further increase the diagnostic accuracy of NT-proBNP for preoperative screening, it is important to identify confounding factors that influence NT-proBNP levels and their interaction with identifying risks for adverse cardiac events. Moreover, until now the available data from previous studies has been unable to consistently recognize the optimal discriminatory threshold for NT-proBNP. Currently, the ongoing DECREASE-VI study is conducted to evaluate whether current preoperative risk stratification can be improved by incorporating NT-proBNP measurements.