Test Overview
Test Methodology

Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay

Test Usage

An aid in the diagnosis and assessment of severity of congestive heart failure. Both BNP and NT-proBNP are markers of atrial and ventricular distension due to increased intracardiac pressure. Both markers increase in circulating concentration as the severity of heart failure increases, making them equally good markers of the functional stage of heart failure. NT-proBNP is a larger molecule and has a longer half-life that BNP, so its concentration in serum during heart failure will be considerably higher than that of BNP. NT-proBNP is more stable than BNP, so no special precautions such as keeping the sample on ice prior to analysis is required. Also, NT-proBNP is the appropriate assay for those patients being treated with the drug Entresto. This drug is an inhibitor of the protease that degrades the active hormone BNP and thus prolongs its half-life. Patients receiving this drug should be monitored with the NT-proBNP assay to get an accurate assessment of the severity of their heart failure.

Reference Range *

Age Range Lab Value Results and Recommendations
50 - 74 <125 pg/mL Normal Result
75 + <450 pg/mL Repeat testing at least yearly
50 - 74 >=125 pg/mL Elevated result
75+ >=450 pg/mL Consider a series of recommendations (available at
http://tinyurl.com/HeartFailureinDiabetes management, with repeated testing in 6
months.
All ages,50+ >=1,000 pg/mL Elevated result
Recommend order trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE) and referral to Cardiology.

* Reference ranges may change over time. Please refer to the original patient report when evaluating results.

Test Details
Days Set Up
Daily, 24 hours a day
Analytic Time

2 hours

Soft Order Code
DPBNP
MiChart Code
Cardiac Markers/ Early Heart Failure Screening
Synonyms
    Laboratory
    Chemical Pathology
    Section
    Automation
    Specimen Requirements
    Collection Instructions

    Collect specimen in an SST or Red top tube. Centrifuge, aliquot serum into a plastic vial and refrigerate.

    Normal Volume
    0.5 mL serum
    Minimum Volume
    0.3 mL serum
    Additional Information

    Detection of early stages of heart failure (A, B) NT-proBNP values greater than 125 pg/ml in people with diabetes 50 years and older or NT-proBNP values greater than 450 pg/ml in people 75 years and older have high sensitivity and specificity to detect earlier stages (A, B) heart failure and guide specific management to prevent progression to acute heart failure.

    Billing
    CPT Code
    83880
    Fee Code
    36906
    LOINC
    33762-6
    NY State Approved
    No