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Value of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide as a marker for rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Lindblade CL, Chun DS, Darragh RK, Caldwell RL, Murphy DJ, Schamberger MS

Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. clindbla@iupui.edu

We analyzed 211 consecutive plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurements in 59 pediatric heart transplant patients along with echocardiographic and right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy samples. Patients with a biopsy specimen negative for rejection had significantly lower BNP levels than those patients with a biopsy positive (p </=0.04) for rejection. BNP significantly decreased with treatment (p </=0.007). BNP levels in the first year after heart transplantation in all patients were significantly greater than BNP levels after the first year in all patients (p <0.001).

Published 22 March 2005 in Am J Cardiol, 95(7): 909-11.
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