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. 1997 Dec;78(6):594–597. doi: 10.1136/hrt.78.6.594

Brain natriuretic peptide is stable in whole blood and can be measured using a simple rapid assay: implications for clinical practice

D Murdoch 1, J Byrne 1, J Morton 1, T McDonagh 1, S Robb 1, S Clements 1, I Ford 1, J McMurray 1, H Dargie 1
PMCID: PMC1892319  PMID: 9470878

Abstract

Objectives—To compare the stability of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) to that of N-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-ANP) in whole blood and plasma stored under different conditions. To compare a rapid, simple, direct (unextracted) BNP assay to a conventional assay using plasma extraction.
Design—Blinded, prospective, comparative study.
Setting—Tertiary referral cardiology department.
Subjects—Forty two subjects (24 men, 18 women) comprising 28 patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) ranging from mild to severe and 14 healthy volunteers.
Main outcome measures—Stability of NT-ANP and BNP when stored as whole blood or plasma at room temperature over three days. Reproducibility of measurements. 
Results—BNP was stable in whole blood stored at room temperature for three days; mean change in concentration −7.4% (95% CI 0.6 to −14.8), (direct), −6.3% (5.0 to −16.4), (extracted); whereas a significant decline in BNP concentration was noted in plasma stored at room temperature; −23.2% (−13.7 to −31.6), (direct); −14.4% (−3.2 to −24.3), (extracted). By contrast a small non-significant rise in NT-ANP concentration was noted both in whole blood and plasma stored at room temperature for three days; whole blood +8.6% (+22.3 to −3.5), plasma +6.3%, (23.2 to −8.4). The reproducibility of the BNP measurements, and particularly the rapid, direct, measurement, was superior to that for NT-ANP.
Conclusions—BNP is shown to be stable in whole blood for three days and can be measured using a rapid, simple assay. Routine assay of BNP is feasible in ordinary clinical practice and may be of value to general practitioners and hospital based physicians in the diagnosis and management of patients with LVSD. Samples can be sent to a central laboratory without special handling requirements.

 Keywords: brain natriuretic peptide;  atrial natriuretic peptide;  heart failure;  diagnosis

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Brain natriuretic peptide concentration (log), measured by the direct (A) and extracted (B) assays in plasma separated and stored immediately at −70°C, or kept for 72 hours as whole blood at room temperature. Line of identity is shown.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Brain natriuretic peptide concentration (log), measured by the direct (A) and extracted (B) assays respectively, in plasma separated and stored immediately at −70°C, or kept for 72 hours as plasma at room temperature. Line of identity is shown.

Figure 3  .

Figure 3  

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N-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide concentration in plasma separated and stored immediately at −70°C, or kept for 72 hours as whole blood (A) and 72 hours as plasma (B) at room temperature. Line of identity is shown.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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