Assessment of Pulmonary Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Cirrhosis: A
Prospective Cohort Study
Abstract
Introduction In the current literature, several studies show that
pulmonary artery stiffness (PAS) is associated with right ventricular
(RV) dysfunction, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and disease
severity in patients with structural heart disease, human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and chronic lung disease. Hence, in this
study, we aimed to use PAS to show the early changes in the pulmonary
vascular bed in patients with cirrhosis. Material and Methods In this
prospective, cross-sectional study, 39 subjects who were being followed
up with cirrhosis and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy participants were
enrolled. For each case, the PAS value was calculated by dividing mean
peak velocity of the pulmonary flow by the pulmonary flow acceleration
time (PfAT). Results The measured PAS was 23.62 ± 5.87 (Hz/msn) in
cirrhotic patients and 19.09 ± 4.16 (Hz/msn) in healthy subjects (p
< 0.001). We found a positive statistical significance between
PAS and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP) (r = 0.378; p =
0.001). PAS was an independent predictor that was associated with
cirrhosis disease according to multivariate logistic regression analysis
(OR: 1.209; 95% CI: 1.059–1.381; p = 0.005). Conclusion Based on the
study results, we consider that PAS may help in the early detection of
changes in the pulmonary vascular bed, even if the RV function
parameters or sPAP are within the normal range.