ArticlePloS one2026
Salivary and serum levels of NT-proBNP, troponin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in patients with heart failure.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSaliva has been proposed as a non-invasive biological matrix for cardiovascular biomarker assessment. However, evidence regarding its agreement with blood-based measurements in patients with heart failure remains inconsistent.
objectiveTo assess the presence of NT-proBNP, troponin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in saliva and their correlation with serum concentrations in patients with heart failure over a six-month follow-up period.
methodsParticipants were prospectively evaluated, and paired saliva and blood samples were collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The population included 52 individuals (30 males and 22 females) with HFmrEF (LVEF 41-49%) or HFrEF (LVEF ≤40%), aged 49-80 years (mean age of 61.1 ± 6.79 years). Biomarker concentrations were measured in both matrices. Agreement between salivary and serum measurements was assessed using Bland-Altman analysis. Additional analyses explored whether age influenced the relationship between salivary and serum biomarker levels.
resultsAll three biomarkers were consistently detectable in whole saliva. However, Bland-Altman analyses showed that salivary NT-proBNP and troponin did not demonstrate clinically acceptable agreement with serum concentrations at any evaluated time point, indicating limited interchangeability between matrices. In contrast, hs-CRP exhibited relatively better agreement between saliva and serum, with mean bias close to zero and moderate limits of agreement, although substantial inter-individual variability persisted. Age and sex did not meaningfully influence the relationship between salivary and serum biomarker concentrations.
conclusionsAlthough NT-proBNP, troponin, and hs-CRP are detectable in saliva, salivary measurements of NT-proBNP and troponin showed insufficient agreement with serum levels to support their use as substitutes for blood-based assessment in heart failure. hs-CRP demonstrated comparatively better performance but remains limited by variability. Under the conditions evaluated, serum remains the reference standard for cardiovascular biomarker assessment in heart failure, and saliva should be regarded as a matrix warranting further investigation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.