Impact of Sildenafil on Survival of Patients With Eisenmenger Syndrome

The favorable effects of short-term use of sildenafil on patients with Eisenmenger syndrome have been reported. We further studied the impact of long-term use of sildenafil on survival of these patients. In this study, the baseline data of patients newly diagnosed as Eisenmenger syndrome in our hospital between January 2005 and December 2009 were retrospectively collected. Patients were followed-up either by telephone contacts or during visits in our out-patient clinic. A total of 121 patients (68 patients in conventional group and 53 patients in sildenafil group) were finally included and 29 patients were re-evaluated after sildenafil therapy for 3-4 months. Compared with the baseline, a 6-minute walk distance, functional classes, plasma hemoglobin level, and hemodynamics were significantly improved after sildenafil treatment. During a median follow-up period of 35.8 months, 15 patients died (11 patients in conventional group). The 1- and 3-year survival rates in sildenafil group were 97.0% and 95.2%, significantly higher than 90.6% and 82.9% in conventional group P = .025). Multivariate analysis showed that sildenafil therapy, functional class and mean pulmonary arterial pressure were independently associated with survival. Therefore, long-term sildenafil therapy improved survival in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome.