Physiological changes at high altitude are known to affect BNP values. Diagnostic certainty can be obtained if echocardiogram shows reduced ejection fraction, diastolic dysfunction or right-sided heart disease. When It is suspected, it can be ruled out if BNP values are below 100 pg/ml. Heart failure (HF) is growing in importance as a significant cause of disease and mortality.
The use of NT-proBNP as a screening test could substantially reduce the number of echocardiographies in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected cardiac failure, as well as the associated costs. This corresponded to a yearly cost reduction of approximately €2–5 million per million inhabitants in these counties. The estimated costs for NT-proBNP tests and echocardiographies per county were reduced by 33%–36% with the 400 pg/mL cut-off and by 28%–29% with the 300 pg/mL cut-off. The cost-effectiveness of the testing strategy was estimated through the short-term cost avoidance and reduction in demand for echocardiographies. Two cut-off levels of NT-proBNP were used: 400 and 300 pg/mL. The costs were calculated from three Swedish counties: Blekinge, Östergötland, and Uppland. Retrospective study in a third-party payer perspective. To estimate the possible economic benefit of a sequential testing strategy with NT-proBNP to reduce the number of echocardiographies.
0 kommentar(er)
