Pulmonary hypertension was present in 49% of stable COPD patients, with its frequency and severity increasing alongside the severity of airway obstruction.
Cross-Sectional (n=94)
No
In a cross-sectional study of COPD patients, 49% had echocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension, which correlated with COPD severity and decreased TAPSE.
Abstract Background A unified approach to diagnosing and treating pulmonary hypertension (PH) is essential to improving the patients' quality of life and prognosis in terms of therapeutic considerations, as it is often underdiagnosed and under-evaluated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is linked to a high mortality rate from complications like cor-pulmonale. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out at Beni-Suef University Hospital's Chest Department, on 94 COPD patients from December 2022 to May 2024. All the patients underwent clinical history, physical examination, 6-minute walk test, laboratory investigations, Spirometry, HRCT, and transthoracic echocardiography. Patients with severely elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure underwent right heart catheterization using Swan-Ganz catheter. Results The prevalence of PH estimated by Echocardiography in our study group was 49%(46 of 94). Amongst theses mild PH was noted in 18 patients (39.2%), moderate in 6 (13%), and severe in 22 (47.8%), The PH prevalence was 47.8% in moderate COPD( 11 of 23 cases: 3 mild, 4 moderate and 4 severe) and 49.29% in severe to very severe COPD ( 35 of 71 cases: 15 mild, 2 moderate and 18 severe]. PH Phenotypes were stratified as follow: Mild to moderate PH (group 3), Severe PH and serve obstruction ( group 3), Severe PH by echocardiography with mild to moderate obstruction for each unit increase in TAPSI/PAPSI there will be decrease in sPAP by 1.09 times. Conclusion 49% of the COPD patients in the study had PH. Additionally, as the severity of COPD grew, so did the frequency and severity of PH. Hypoxemia and decreased TAPSE are predictive of prognosis and are associated with the severity of the disease in COPD.
Laz et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n=94). Pulmonary hypertension was present in 49% of stable COPD patients, with its frequency and severity increasing alongside the severity of airway obstruction.