Association of changes in NT-proBNP, hsTnT and uric acid levels with haemodynamic changes after targeted medical therapies in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

Background During pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-targeted therapies for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), regular follow up to evaluate treatment efficacy is essential. Serum biomarkers can reflect various pathobiological processes in IPAH and have the advantages of being non-invasive, simple to carry out and low cost. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether serum biomarkers could serve as non-invasive markers to reflect haemodynamic changes after PAH-targeted therapies in patients with IPAH.Methods A total of 31 eligible patients aged 38.1 ± 12.1 years (25 were female) were included in this study. Changes in haemodynamic parameters and several serum biomarkers (cardiac markers, serum uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hepatic and kidney function markers) were compared before and after at least six months of PAH-targeted therapies. The time interval between the blood assays and right heart catheterisation was within five days.Results After at least six months of PAH-targeted therapies, the N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level decreased from 579 (191–905) to 135 pg/ml (60–395) (p