NPPB and heart failure: Patients with poor vital signs, including severe fever, tachycardia, or tachypnea, may need additional POCT, such as portable chest X-ray, neck soft tissue X-ray in cases of epiglottitis, POC venous blood gases, POC CRP, POC creatinine, POC complete blood count (CBC), and occasionally proBNP to rule out heart failure.