Summary: Siemens Healthineers has introduced the NT-proBNPII assay to its Atellica Solution, enhancing diagnostic capabilities for heart failure with rapid results and offering both NT-proBNP and BNP tests for improved clinical flexibility.

Takeaways:

  1. Enhanced Diagnostic Speed and Flexibility: The NT-proBNPII assay provides a quick 10-minute time-to-first-result, enabling faster diagnosis of heart failure, and is available alongside the BNP assay on the Atellica IM and CI analyzers, offering significant flexibility for clinical laboratories.
  2. Critical Role in Heart Failure Management: By measuring NT-proBNP and BNP levels, which are key biomarkers for heart failure, the assays help clinicians accurately diagnose this condition, potentially reducing misdiagnosis and improving patient outcomes.
  3. Support for Clinical Efficiency: The availability of both natriuretic peptide assays on a single platform supports workflow standardization and clinical equivalence, crucial for efficient operations and consistent patient care across different healthcare settings.

Siemens Healthineers has added the NT‑proBNPII (PBNPII) assay to its comprehensive cardiac menu on the Atellica Solution to help diagnose heart failure. N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) and Brain or B-type natriuretic peptides (BNP) are cardiac markers of stress that are released in response to increased ventricular filling pressure. 

The PBNPII assay from Siemens Healthineers supports timely patient care with a 10-minute time-to-first-result. Siemens Healthineers now offers both natriuretic peptide tests to support choice and flexibility, as both assays can run on either the company’s Atellica IM or Atellica CI analyzer.

Addressing Heart Failure

In the United States, heart failure affects nearly 6.5 million adults and directly accounts for about 8.5 percent of all heart disease deaths.1 Both acute and non-acute heart failure are difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other health conditions. Elevated levels of either NT-proBNP or BNP are associated with heart failure, and they are both recommended biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. Natriuretic peptide assays make it possible to quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively2 measure BNP and NT-proBNP concentration levels in the blood, helping enable clinicians to more effectively diagnose heart failure and begin appropriate therapeutic treatment. Using natriuretic peptide assays helps reduce time to diagnosis and treatment, and can help significantly lower the rates of misdiagnosis.3,4

“The addition of the NT-proBNPII assay to the Atellica platform is an important development,” says James Januzzi, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief scientific officer at the Baim Institute for Clinical Research and a pioneer in natriuretic peptide testing. “NT-proBNP is a valuable adjunct to clinical care of patients with suspected or proven heart failure in the ED and outpatient care settings. Given the clinical flexibility in choice of NT-proBNP and BNP on one instrument coupled with excellence and global reach of Siemens Healthineers technology, this is a welcome advance for patient care.”

Further reading: Siemens Healthineers Launches Atellica CI Analyzer to Address Lab Challenges

Physicians typically request blood tests to measure natriuretic peptides for patients presenting to the emergency department or in outpatient settings with clinical suspicion of new onset or worsening heart failure. With both NT-proBNPII and BNP assays available alongside guideline acceptable High-Sensitivity Troponin I on the high-volume Atellica Solution and mid-volume Atellica CI Analyzer, clinical laboratories now have choice and flexibility to consider the testing preferences of their physicians. This also helps support workflow standardization and clinical equivalence among satellite laboratories—factors critical to more efficient laboratory operations and patient care within a health network. 

Featured image: NT-proBNPII assay Photo: Siemens Healthineers

References: 

1. https://hfsa.org/patient-hub/heart-failure-facts-information

2. Mueller C, Scholer A, Laule-Kilian K, Martina B, Schindler C, Buser P, et al. Use of B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in the Evaluation and Management of Acute Dyspnea. New England Journal of Medicine. 2004 Feb 12;350(7):647–54

3. Utility of B-type natriuretic peptide in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in an urgent-care setting – PubMed (nih.gov)

4. The N-terminal Pro-BNP investigation of dyspnea in the emergency department (PRIDE) study – PubMed (nih.gov)