PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Clare J Taylor
AU  - José M Ordóñez-Mena
AU  - Sarah L Lay-Flurrie
AU  - Clare R Goyder
AU  - Kathryn S Taylor
AU  - Nicholas R Jones
AU  - Andrea K Roalfe
AU  - FD Richard Hobbs
TI  - Natriuretic peptide testing and heart failure diagnosis in primary care: diagnostic accuracy study
AID  - 10.3399/BJGP.2022.0278
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - e1--e8
VI  - 73
IP  - 726
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/73/726/e1.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/73/726/e1.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract2023 Jan 01; 73
AB  - Background Natriuretic peptide (NP) testing is recommended for patients presenting to primary care with symptoms of chronic heart failure (HF) to prioritise referral for diagnosis.Aim To report NP test performance at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline referral thresholds.Design and setting Diagnostic accuracy study using linked primary and secondary care data (2004 to 2018).Method The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of NP testing for HF diagnosis was assessed.Results In total, 229 580 patients had an NP test and 21 102 (9.2%) were diagnosed with HF within 6 months. The ESC NT-proBNP threshold ≥125 pg/mL had a sensitivity of 94.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 94.2 to 95.0) and specificity of 50.0% (95% CI = 49.7 to 50.3), compared with sensitivity of 81.7% (95% CI = 81.0 to 82.3) and specificity of 80.3% (95% CI = 80.0 to 80.5) for the NICE NT-proBNP ≥400 pg/mL threshold. PPVs for an NT-proBNP test were 16.4% (95% CI = 16.1 to 16.6) and 30.0% (95% CI = 29.6 to 30.5) for ESC and NICE thresholds, respectively. For both guidelines, nearly all patients with an NT-proBNP level below the threshold did not have HF (NPV: ESC 98.9%, 95% CI = 98.8 to 99.0 and NICE 97.7%, 95% CI = 97.6 to 97.8).Conclusion At the higher NICE chronic HF guideline NP thresholds, one in five cases are initially missed in primary care but the lower ESC thresholds require more diagnostic assessments. NP is a reliable ‘rule-out’ test at both cut-points. The optimal NP threshold will depend on the priorities and capacity of the healthcare system.