Table 5.

Hepatic disposal of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (proBNP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with cirrhosis

	Cirrhosis (n = 51)	Controls (n = 13)
ProBNP
Hepatic vein (pmol/l)	17.7 (2.0)	12,4 (5.0) (n = 5)
(Artery, pmol/l)†	(18.3) (2.1)†	(14.6) (5.9)†
Extraction ratio	0.05 (0.038)	0.09 (0.036) (n = 5)
Clearance (ml/min)	23 (45)	22 (25)
Disposal rate (pmol/min)	0.73 (0.48)	0.27 (0.17)
BNP
Hepatic vein (pmol/l)	10.1 (1.3)	10.1 (3.3) (n = 8)
(Artery, pmol/l)†	(11.8 (1.4)†	(12.3 (3.4)†
Extraction ratio	0.12 (0.026)	0.18 (0.10) (n = 8)
Clearance (ml/min)	49 (15)	68 (76) (n = 8)
Disposal rate (pmol/min)	1.41 (0.52)a	0.46 (0.13) (n = 8)

Values are mean (SEM).

†Values in parentheses are corresponding values in the artery obtained simultaneously with the hepatic vein sample.

^aSignificantly different from controls (p<0.05).