Skip to main content

NT-proBNP, IL-1RL Can Identify High-Risk Congenital Heart Disease in Neonates

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on June 24, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 24, 2024 -- Automated quantitative tests for NT-proBNP and interleukin 1 receptor-like 1 (IL-1 RL1) can identify high-risk congenital heart disease (CHD) in newborns, according to a study published online June 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Henning Clausen, M.D., from Lund University in Sweden, and colleagues examined the performance of two diagnostic tests using minimal amounts of dried blood spots (DBS) to identify high-risk CHD in a Swedish cohort of neonates. Automated quantitative tests for NT-proBNP and IL-1 RL1 (formerly known as soluble ST2) were compared against established CHD screening methods among 313 newborns.

The DBS samples analyzed included 217 CHD cases and 96 controls; of the CHD cases, 89.3 percent (188 cases) were high-risk types, of which 38.8 percent (73 cases) were suspected prenatally. The researchers found that 94 (50.0 percent) of the high-risk cases passed pulse oximetry screening and 36 (19.1 percent) were discharged after birth without diagnoses. Compared with existing screening methods, combining NT-proBNP and IL-1 RL1 tests performed well, enabling additional identification of asymptomatic babies, with a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of 0.95.

"Tests were accurate and performed well in differentiating healthy controls from high-risk CHD cases," the authors write. "This warrants prospective evaluation to improve early diagnosis of CHD in this vulnerable population of newborns."

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry; one reported having a patent pending for screening products.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

USPSTF Recommends Counseling to Prevent Perinatal Depression

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends counseling for women at increased risk for perinatal depression (PND). This recommendation...

More Than 3.6 Million Births Recorded in the United States in 2024, Up 1 Percent From 2023

WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2025 -- In 2024, the provisional number of births in the United States was 3,622,673, which was 1 percent higher than in 2023, according to an April Vital...

Maternal Anemia in Early Pregnancy May Increase Risk for Congenital Heart Disease

WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2025 -- Maternal anemia in early pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for congenital heart disease (CHD) in offspring, according to a study...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.