CA125 but not NT-proBNP predicts the presence of a congestive intrarenal venous flow in patients with acute heart failure

Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care. 2021 Jun 30;10(5):475-483. doi: 10.1093/ehjacc/zuab022.

Abstract

Background: Intrarenal venous flow (IRVF) measured by Doppler ultrasound has gained interest as a potential surrogate marker of renal congestion and adverse outcomes in heart failure. In this work, we aimed to determine if antigen carbohydrate 125 (CA125) and plasma amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are associated with congestive IRVF patterns (i.e., biphasic and monophasic) in acute heart failure (AHF).

Methods and results: We prospectively enrolled a consecutive cohort of 70 patients hospitalized for AHF. Renal Doppler ultrasound was assessed within the first 24-h of hospital admission. The mean age of the sample was 73.5 ± 12.3 years; 47.1% were female, and 42.9% exhibited heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The median (interquartile range) for NT-proBNP and CA125 were 6149 (3604-12 330) pg/mL and 64 (37-122) U/mL, respectively. The diagnostic performance of both exposures for identifying congestive IRVF patterns was tested using the receiving operating curve (ROC). The cut-off for CA125 of 63.5 U/mL showed a sensibility and specificity of 67% and 74% and an area under the ROC curve of 0.71. After multivariate adjustment, CA125 remained non-linearly and positively associated with congestive IRVF (P-value = 0.008) and emerged as the most important covariate explaining the variability of the model (R2: 47.5%). Under the same multivariate setting, NT-proBNP did not show to be associated with congestive IRVF patterns (P-value = 0.847).

Conclusions: CA125 and not NT-proBNP is a useful marker for identifying patients with AHF and congestive IRVF patterns.

Keywords: Acute heart failure; Biomarkers; CA125; Cardiorenal; Congestion; Intrarrenal Doppler ultrasound; NTproBNP.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • CA-125 Antigen* / analysis
  • Carbohydrates
  • Female
  • Heart Failure* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins* / analysis
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain*
  • Peptide Fragments*
  • Prognosis
  • ROC Curve

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • CA-125 Antigen
  • Carbohydrates
  • MUC16 protein, human
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Peptide Fragments
  • pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76)
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain