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  • Title: Usefulness of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure as a correlate of left ventricular filling pressures in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
    Author: Oliveira RK, Ferreira EV, Ramos RP, Messina CM, Kapins CE, Silva CM, Ota-Arakaki JS.
    Journal: J Heart Lung Transplant; 2014 Feb; 33(2):157-62. PubMed ID: 24268673.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) of ≤15 mm Hg, given a normal left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP). However, recent studies have shown that, in PAH patients, diagnosis based on PCWP can erroneously classify a significant number of patients compared with diagnosis based on left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Therefore, we sought to compare the diagnostic accuracy of end-expiratory PCWP and LVEDP measurements in patients suspected of having pulmonary hypertension (PH). METHODS: We reviewed the hemodynamic data from 122 patients suspected of having PH who underwent simultaneous right- and left-side heart catheterizations at a PH referral center from 2006 to 2011. RESULTS: PH was diagnosed in 105 patients, 79% of whom (n = 83) showed a pre-capillary pattern according to the LVEDP measurement. Ninety percent of patients with PCWP ≤15 mm Hg were correctly classified as having pre-capillary PH. However, 39% of patients with a PCWP >15 mm Hg had LVEDP ≤15 mm Hg and would have been erroneously diagnosed with pulmonary venous hypertension based on their PCWP measurements alone. The sensitivity and specificity was 0.89 and 0.64, respectively. A Bland-Altman analysis of the PCWP and LVEDP measurements revealed a mean bias of 0.3 mm Hg with 95% limits of agreement of -7.2 to 7.8 mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: A PCWP ≤15 mm Hg was found to be a reliable indicator of normal LVFP in pre-capillary PH patients. When measured properly and analyzed in the clinical context, PCWP is a valuable tool for accurate diagnosis of PAH.
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