Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesDiagnostic or prognostic study
Acute Dyspnoea in Cancer Patients: Prevalence of Acute Heart Failure, Resource Use and Diagnostic Accuracy of Natriuretic Peptides
- Diagnostic accuracy study
- prospective
- multicentre
Authors' conclusion
Acute heart failure was the most common diagnosis in cancer patients presenting with acute dyspnoea. Rales, pleural effusion, and NT-proBNP had lower diagnostic accuracy versus patients without cancer, while that of BNP remained robust.
Study context
- Population
- Patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute dyspnoea473 (22.0%) with cancer
- Participants
- 2,153 patients
- Comparison
- Cancer vs no cancer patients presenting with acute dyspnoea
- Cancern = 473
- Outcome
- Prevalence of acute HF (centrally adjudicated), resource use and diagnostic accuracy of natriuretic peptides
Performance
As reported in the abstract
Acute HF as final diagnosis
P = 0.01
Further findings
| Outcome | Cancer | Non-cancer | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| NT-proBNP diagnostic accuracy for acute HF · ED presentation | P = 0.01 | ||
| AUC | 0.89 | 0.93 | |
| BNP diagnostic accuracy for acute HF · ED presentation | P = ns | ||
| AUC | 0.93 | 0.95 |
NT-proBNP diagnostic accuracy for acute HF · ED presentation
- Difference mainly due to active cancers
Hospitalization rate and length of hospital stay
- Both higher in cancer patients
- P < 0.01
Alternative diagnoses
- Pneumonia and cancer-related dyspnoea more frequent with cancer; anxiety disorder/hyperventilation frequent without cancer
Acute heart failure (AHF)-related signs
- Rales and pleural effusion showed significant interaction with cancer status and lower diagnostic accuracy in cancer patients
Original publication
Acute Dyspnoea in Cancer Patients: Prevalence of Acute Heart Failure, Resource Use and Diagnostic Accuracy of Natriuretic Peptides. Eur J Heart Fail. Published 30 June 2025. doi:10.1002/ejhf.3752
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it