Efficacy of Pulmonary Ultrasound Compared to N-terminal prohormone Brain Natriuretic Peptide as a Diagnostic Tool for Congestive Heart Failure in Patients Presenting with Acute Dyspnea in the Emergency Setting

Abstract

Objective: To determine the efficacy of using pulmonary ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in acute dyspnea of undetermined cause compared to the use of serum N-Terminal prohormone Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) in the diagnosis of heart failure. Design: Systematic literature review Methods: Searches were conducted in PubMed and Scopus using the terms pulmonary ultrasound and congestive heart failure and studies within the last 10 years. Studies that used pulmonary ultrasound compared to BNP as a marker for the diagnosis of heart failure were included. Results: All three studies found that the use of pulmonary ultrasound was a more specific diagnostic aid for heart failure when compared with NT-proBNP. Conclusion: The use of pulmonary ultrasound is highly specific in guiding the clinical diagnosis of heart failure in patients presenting with acute dyspnea of an unknown cause