Circulation 2016 May 6;133(18):1761-71. Epub 2016 Apr 6.
From Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom (J.E.C., K.P., M.T., E.S., C.T., A. Ponnaberanam, K.S., D.T., J.D., S.T., C.N., N.S., D.P.T., J.P.-Z.); MRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom (L.S.); Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom (D.G.K., R.C., C.E.); Respiratory Medicine Department, University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland (E.S.); Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom (D.G., S. Gibbs, L.H.); Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, United Kingdom (P.C., J.L.); Golden Jubilee Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom (M.J., A. Peacock); Royal United Hospital, Bath, United Kingdom (R.M.-R.); Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom (B.S., G.C.); Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom (K.D., J.W.); Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (S. Gaine); and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom (S.M.).
Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension results from incomplete resolution of pulmonary emboli. Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is potentially curative, but residual pulmonary hypertension following surgery is common and its impact on long-term outcome is poorly understood. We wanted to identify factors correlated with poor long-term outcome after surgery and specifically define clinically relevant residual pulmonary hypertension post-PEA.
Methods And Results: Eight hundred eighty consecutive patients (mean age, 57 years) underwent PEA for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Patients routinely underwent detailed reassessment with right heart catheterization and noninvasive testing at 3 to 6 months and annually thereafter with discharge if they were clinically stable at 3 to 5 years and did not require pulmonary vasodilator therapy. Cox regressions were used for survival (time-to-event) analyses. Overall survival was 86%, 84%, 79%, and 72% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years for the whole cohort and 91% and 90% at 1 and 3 years for the recent half of the cohort. The majority of patient deaths after the perioperative period were not attributable to right ventricular failure (chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension). At reassessment, a mean pulmonary artery pressure of ≥30 mm Hg correlated with the initiation of pulmonary vasodilator therapy post-PEA. A mean pulmonary artery pressure of ≥38 mm Hg and pulmonary vascular resistance ≥425 dynes·s(-1)·cm(-5) at reassessment correlated with worse long-term survival.
Conclusions: Our data confirm excellent long-term survival and maintenance of good functional status post-PEA. Hemodynamic assessment 3 to 6 months and 12 months post-PEA allows stratification of patients at higher risk of dying of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and identifies a level of residual pulmonary hypertension that may guide the long-term management of patients postsurgery.