In patients with scoliosis and neuromuscular weakness, reduced pulmonary flow conduction time correlates with Pao2, suggesting the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension likely due to active vasoconstriction.
May suggest vasoconstriction-mediated PAH in scoliosis; hypothesis-generating and should not change practice.
Pulmonary capillary blood flow was measured by the nitrous oxide body plethysmograph technique in 16 patients, 10 of whom had scoliosis and six neuromuscular weakness. A linear correlation was found between the pulmonary artery to capillary flow conduction time and Pao₂ (r=+0·85; p<0·001). The finding of a reduced flow conduction time and its correlation with the Pao₂ suggests the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension presumably on the basis of active vasoconstriction.
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Littler et al. (1973) studied this question.
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