REALITY BNP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
REAL-WORLD CLINICAL UTILITY OF BNP TESTING IN ACUTE DYSPNOEA
IRAS ID
245130
Contact name
Nicholas Mills
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Edinburgh University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
This study is assessing the impact of introducing of a blood test for breathless patients with possible heart failure attending the Emergency Department. Heart failure is a major cause of ill-health and consumes around 2% of the entire NHS budget. Heart failure occurs when your heart is not able to pump blood efficiently around the body. Patients usually present with breathlessness and the condition can be life-threatening. Heart failure can be readily treated with medication, but the diagnosis is often difficult in the Emergency Department. Natriuretic peptides are small proteins released from the heart when it is failing and measurement of these proteins in the bloodstream can assist in diagnosis of heart failure. However, it has not yet been shown whether using this test leads to improved outcomes for patients and there are concerns that, if used too widely, it may lead to unnecessary further heart tests in patients who do not have heart failure. For these and other reasons, the test is not yet widely used in the UK. Our study will assess whether the use of natriuretic peptide testing in breathless adults with possible heart failure attending a single Emergency Department (Edinburgh Royal Infirmary) results in improved survival and less need for future emergency hospital admissions.
REC name
Scotland A: Adults with Incapacity only
REC reference
19/SS/0011
Date of REC Opinion
28 Feb 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion