Echocardiographically-Derived Septal Positional Angle (EDSPA) as a
Measure of Elevated Right Ventricular Systolic Pressure
Abstract
Background: Pulmonary hypertension is a significant yet rare disease
that can have many long-term consequences, including death. Cardiac
catheterization is the gold standard for measuring pulmonary artery mean
pressures (PAMP), but is invasive and risks potentially serious
complications. This study aimed to create a semi-quantitative,
non-invasive measure of PAMP using septal positioning. Methods: This
study was a retrospective study of patients with and without pulmonary
hypertension who had a transthoracic echocardiogram and cardiac
catheterization. Patients undergoing atrial septal defect closure
represented controls. Two blinded readers calculated the
“Echocardiographically-Derived Septal Positional Angle (EDSPA)” which
was compared to corresponding catheterization data including mean
pulmonary artery pressures. Results: A total of 159 children were
included, of which 151 had useable echocardiographic data. 40 children
were identified as having pulmonary hypertension while 111 children had
an atrial septal defect. Patient age ranged from a minimum of 54 days
and maximum of 19 years [mean 7.1 years (SD=5.30)]. Inter-observer
variability between two readers [Pearson correlation coefficient of
0.939 (p <0.001)] and intra-observer variability were low
[intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.95 and 0.96 for each
observer respectively]. An EDSPA of ≤39° predicted a
PAMP>20 mmHg (as measured by cardiac catheterization) with
a 76% sensitivity and 76% specificity (AUC 0.846). Conclusions: EDSPA
is a useful, non-invasive, and reproducible echocardiographic measure of
PAMP that is easy to perform. With a sensitivity and specificity near
80%, it has significant utility in screening for pulmonary hypertension
and determining which patients should undergo further invasive
diagnostic testing.