The Predictive Value of NT-Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide for Risk of Pneumonia in Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

Background/Aims: Pneumonia is a common type of infection in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, while the treatment and prevention progress still keep limited. N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is an important marker in reflecting cardiac failure which also is a risk factor for pneumonia. This study aimed to determine the possible predictive value of NT-proBNP for pneumonia in MHD patients. Methods: In this prospective study, the basic information of 276 MHD patients was collected in Fudan university Zhongshan hospital, followed up for 1 year. The primary endpoint was the first pneumonia event during follow-up. The value of NT-proBNP in patients with pneumonia and without pneumonia was analyzed, to elucidate the predictive value of the NT-proBNP in hemodialysis patients with pneumonia. Results: Two hundred and seventy-six patients were finally enrolled in this prospective study, including 170 men. The mean age was 59.7 ± 14.0 years old. The average duration of hemodialysis is 56 (30–82.8) months. Enrolled patients were followed up for 1 year. During follow-up, 38 patients got pneumonia. After adjustment for other confounding factors, age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.031, 95% CI 1.003–1.060, p = 0.028), log NT-proBNP (HR 2.512, 95% CI 1.124–5.612, p = 0.025), history of smoking (HR 6.326, 95% CI 2.505–15.974, p < 0.001), β2-microglobin (HR 1.042, 95% CI 1.007–1.079, p = 0.019), and history of cerebrovascular disease (HR 2.303, 95% CI 1.107–4.719, p = 0.026) were independent predictors of pneumonia. Receiver operating characteristic curves of log NT-proBNP to predict 1 year pneumonia cases, log NT-proBNP had an area under the curve of 0.647 (95% CI [0.564–0.729], p < 0.01). Conclusions: NT-proBNP is a predictive factor of pneumonia in hemodialysis patients.