Multi-centered investigation of a point-of-care NT-proBNP ELISA assay to detect moderate to severe occult (pre-clinical) feline heart disease in cats referred for cardiac evaluation

• Published in: Journal of veterinary cardiology Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 245 - 255
• Main Authors: Machen, Maggie C., Oyama, Mark A., Gordon, Sonya G., Rush, John E., Achen, Sarah E., Stepien, Rebecca L., Fox, Philip R., Saunders, Ashley B., Cunningham, Suzanne M., Lee, Pamela M., Kellihan, Heidi B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Blood tests; BNP; Cardiomyopathy; Cat Diseases - blood; Cat Diseases - diagnosis; Cats; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Female; Heart Diseases - blood; Heart Diseases - diagnosis; Heart Diseases - veterinary; Male; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Natriuretic peptides; Peptide Fragments - blood; Point-of-Care Systems; Predictive Value of Tests; BNP; Cardiomyopathy; Blood tests; Natriuretic peptides
• ISSN: 1760-2734; 1875-0834
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2014.09.002

To prospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a point-of-care (POC) N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) ELISA to assess the likelihood of moderate to severe occult heart disease (OcHD) in a clinical population of cats suspected to have heart disease. One hundred and forty-six asymptomatic client-owned cats with a heart murmur, gallop rhythm, arrhythmia, or cardiomegaly. Physical examination, blood pressure measurement and echocardiography were performed prospectively. Point-of-care ELISA was visually assessed as either positive or negative by a reader blinded to the echocardiographic results. Forty-three healthy cats, 50 mild OcHD, 31 moderate OcHD, 6 severe OcHD, and 16 cats equivocal for OcHD were examined. Cats with OcHD included 65 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 6 with restrictive or unclassified cardiomyopathy, 1 with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and 15 with non-cardiomyopathic forms of heart disease. Point-of-care ELISA differentiated cats with moderate or severe OcHD with sensitivity/specificity of 83.8%/82.6% and overall accuracy of 82.9%. Positive POC ELISA increased likelihood of moderate or severe OcHD by a factor of 4.8 vs. those that tested negative. Point-of-care ELISA differentiated cats with moderate or severe cardiomyopathic OcHD with sensitivity/specificity of 88.6%/81.3% and overall accuracy of 83.2%. In a select sample of cats referred for cardiac evaluation, positive POC NT-proBNP ELISA increases likelihood of moderate to severe OcHD while negative POC NT-proBNP ELISA result excludes moderate to severe OcHD.