The atrial natriuretic peptide does not serve osmoregulation but predicts outcome following brain injury.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) plays an important role in body fluid homeostasis. ANP has been established as a marker of cardiac dysfunction and may play a role in brain edema development after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In order to identify its specific assignment following TBI, we related clinical data and treatment variables in 63 patients to longitudinal midregional (MR) proatrail natriuretic peptide (ANP) measurements.