연구배경 : 혈청 내 B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)는 심실의 부피 증가나 압력 부하에 의해 주로 심실에서 분비된다. 몇몇의 보고에서 호흡곤란을 주소로 응급실에 내원한 환자들에서 BNP의 측정이 심부전과 폐질환을 감별하는데 도움이 된다고 보고하였다. 저자들은 호흡곤란을 주소로 내원한 환자에서 BNP의 측정이 우심실부전과 좌심실부전의 감별에 도움이 될 수 있는지를 알고자 이 연구를 시작하게 되었다. 방 법 : 포천중문의대 분당차 병원에 2002년 6월에서 2003년 3월까지 호흡곤란을 주소로 응급실을 내원한 환자 89명과, 정상 대조군으로 29명에서 방사선면역측정법을 이용하여 BNP를 측정하였다. 결 과 : 호흡곤란을 주소로 내원한 좌심실부전군(1군)과 우심실부전군(2군) 사이에는 유의한 BNP 값의 차이($682{pm}314$ pg/mL vs. $149{pm}94$ pg/mL, p=0.000)가 있었다. ROC 곡선을 이용하여 BNP 기준값을 219 pg/mL로 했을 때 좌심실부전군과 우심실부전군을 감별할 수 있는 민감도는 94.3%, 특이도는 92.9%, 양성 예측도는 97%, 그리고 음성 예측도는 86.7%였다. 결 론 : BNP는 호흡곤란을 주소로 응급실을 내원한 환자에서 좌심실부전과 우심실부전을 감별하는데 도움을 줄 수 있는 빠르고 유용한 검사방법이다.
Background : The serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released from the ventricles as a response to volume or pressure overload of the ventricles. A few studies have reported that the BNP measurements are useful in differentiating between heart failure and pulmonary causes in patients who visited the emergency department with dyspnea as the chief complaint. It is difficult to differentiate a right heart failure from a left heart failure in the emergency room. However, there is no report on the application of a BNP assay to differentiate in right heart failure from left heart failure. In this study, the BNP levels were measured from dyspneic patients in the emergency department to determine whether or not the BNP level would be useful in differentiating the cause of the dyspnea from right ventricular failure and left ventricular failure. Method : 89 patients who visited emergency department of the Bundang Cha Hospital with dyspnea from June 2002 to March 2003 were selected. The 29 patients from the outpatient clinics and inpatients were randomly selected as the control. Results : The BNP levels of patients in the left heart failure group were significantly different from that of the patients in the right heart failure group ($682{pm}314$ pg/mL vs. $149{pm}94$ pg/mL, p=0.000). When the BNP cut-off level was designated as 219 pg/mL using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity was 94.3%, and specificity was 92.9%. In addition, the positive predictive value was 97% and the negative predictive value was 86.7% in differentiating right heart failure from left heart failure. Conclusion : Measurements of the serum BNP levels is an accurate and rapid method that can aid in distinguishing between right heart failure and left heart failure.
