Hepatic and splenic sonographic and sonoelastographic findings in pulmonary arterial hypertension

• Main Authors: İlhan Hekimsoy, Burçin Kibar Öztürk, Hatice Soner Kemal, Meral Kayıkçıoğlu, Ömer Faruk Dadaş, Gülgün Kavukçu, Mehmet Nurullah Orman, Sanem Nalbantgil, Sadık Tamsel, Hakan Kültürsay, Süha Süreyya Özbek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine 2021-04-01
• Series: Ultrasonography
• Subjects: congestion; pulmonary arterial hypertension; shear wave elastography; elasticity imaging techniques; stiffness
• Online Access: http://www.e-ultrasonography.org/upload/usg-20076.pdf
• ISSN: 2288-5919; 2288-5943

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of sonographic and sonoelastographic parameters with clinical cardiac parameters, as well as to assess their value in predicting survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods Thirty-six patients with PAH and normal liver function were prospectively enrolled in this prospective study along with 26 healthy controls, all of whom underwent ultrasound and point shear wave elastography examinations. Additionally, the portal vein pulsatility index (PVPI), inferior vena cava collapsibility index, and clinical cardiac variables were obtained in PAH patients. The values of hepatic (LVs) and splenic shear wave velocity (SVs) were compared between PAH patients and controls. The relationships between all sonographic and clinical parameters in the PAH patients were analyzed. Furthermore, their prognostic value in predicting survival was investigated. Results LVs values in PAH patients (median, 1.62 m/s) were significantly higher than in controls (median, 0.99 m/s), while no significant difference was observed in SVs values. Patients with higher grades of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) had significantly different values of PVPI (P=0.010) and sonoelastographic parameters (P<0.001 for LVs and P=0.004 for SVs) compared to those with less severe TR. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion values were the only investigated parameter found to be associated with survival (hazard ratio, 0.814; 95% confidence interval, 0.694 to 0.954; P=0.011). Conclusion Our results demonstrated a direct association between cardiac congestion (i.e., the severity of TR) and liver stiffness, which should be kept in mind during the assessment of fibrosis in patients with PAH.