scholarly journals Severe pulmonary hypertension in lung disease: phenotypes and response to treatment

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1378-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie J. Brewis ◽  
Alistair C. Church ◽  
Martin K. Johnson ◽  
Andrew J. Peacock

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to lung disease (World Health Organization (WHO) group 3) is common, but severe PH, arbitrarily defined as mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥35 mmHg is reported in only a small proportion. Whether these should be treated as patients in WHO group 1 (i.e.pulmonary arterial hypertension) with PH-targeted therapies is unknown.We compared the phenotypic characteristics and outcomes of 118 incident patients with severe PH and lung disease with 74 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) patients, all treated with pulmonary vasodilators.Lung disease patients were older, more hypoxaemic, and had lower gas transfer, worse New York Heart Association functional class and lower 6-min walking distance (6MWD) than IPAH patients. Poorer survival in those with lung disease was driven by the interstitial lung disease (ILD) cohort.In contrast to IPAH, where significant improvements in 6MWD and N-terminal pro-brain natruiretic peptide (NT-proBNP) occurred, PH therapy in severe PH lung disease did not lead to improvement in 6MWD or functional class, but neither was deterioration seen. NT-proBNP decreased from 2200 to 1596 pg·mL−1(p=0.015). Response varied by lung disease phenotype, with poorer outcomes in patients with ILD and emphysema with preserved forced expiratory volume in 1 s. Further study is required to investigate whether vasodilator therapy may delay disease progression in severe PH with lung disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 204589401987715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Arvanitaki ◽  
Maria Boutsikou ◽  
Anastasia Anthi ◽  
Sotiria Apostolopoulou ◽  
Aikaterini Avgeropoulou ◽  
...  

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a heterogenous clinical entity with poor prognosis, despite recent major pharmacological advances. To increase awareness about the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and management of the disease, large national registries are required. The Hellenic pulmOnary hyPertension rEgistry (HOPE) was launched in early 2015 and enrolls patients from all pulmonary hypertension subgroups in Greece. Baseline epidemiologic, diagnostic, and initial treatment data of consecutive patients with PAH are presented in this article. In total, 231 patients with PAH were enrolled from January 2015 until April 2018. At baseline, about half of patients with PAH were in World Health Organization functional class II. The majority of patients with PAH (56.7%) were at intermediate 1-year mortality risk, while more than one-third were low-risk patients, according to an abbreviated risk stratification score. Half of patients with PAH were on monotherapy, 38.9% received combination therapy, while prostanoids were used only in 12.1% of patients. In conclusion, baseline data of the Greek PAH population share common characteristics, but also have some differences with other registries, the most prominent being a better functional capacity. This may reflect earlier diagnosis of PAH that in conjunction with the increased proportion of patients with atypical PAH could partially explain the preference for monotherapy and the limited use of prostanoids in Greece. Nevertheless, early, advanced specific therapy is strongly recommended.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1303-1313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Rubin ◽  
Nazzareno Galiè ◽  
Friedrich Grimminger ◽  
Ekkehard Grünig ◽  
Marc Humbert ◽  
...  

Riociguat is a soluble, guanylate cyclase stimulator, approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension. In the 12-week PATENT-1 study, riociguat was well tolerated and improved several clinically relevant end-points in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who were treatment naïve or had been pretreated with endothelin-receptor antagonists or prostanoids. The PATENT-2 open-label extension evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of riociguat.Eligible patients from the PATENT-1 study received riociguat individually adjusted up to a maximum dose of 2.5 mg three times daily. The primary objective was to assess the safety and tolerability of riociguat; exploratory efficacy assessments included 6-min walking distance and World Health Organization (WHO) functional class.Overall, 396 patients entered the PATENT-2 study and 324 (82%) were ongoing at this interim analysis (March 2013). The safety profile of riociguat in PATENT-2 was similar to that observed in PATENT-1, with cases of haemoptysis and pulmonary haemorrhage also being observed in PATENT-2. Improvements in the patients', 6-min walking distance and WHO functional class observed in PATENT-1 persisted for up to 1 year in PATENT-2. In the observed population at the 1-year time point, mean±sd 6-min walking distance had changed by 51±74 m and WHO functional class had improved in 33%, stabilised in 61% and worsened in 6% of the patients versus the PATENT-1 baseline.Long-term riociguat was well tolerated in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, and led to sustained improvements in exercise capacity and functional capacity for up to 1 year.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 204589402095855
Author(s):  
Clara Hjalmarsson ◽  
Oisin Butler ◽  
Roger Hesselstrand ◽  
Katsiaryna Holl ◽  
Kjell Jansson ◽  
...  

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors are commonly used in pulmonary arterial hypertension but, as suggested by the RESPITE study, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor therapy (mono-/combination) does not always have a satisfactory treatment effect. This study aimed to investigate the clinical course of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients not at treatment goal after at least 90 days of treatment with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, alone or in combination with other pulmonary arterial hypertension therapies. The study included 106 incident patients from the Swedish Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Registry, treated with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors for ≥90 days, who were not at a pre-specified treatment goal, i.e. in World Health Organisation functional class III, with 6-min walking distance 165–440 m, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide >300 ng/L. Changes in World Health Organisation functional class, 6-min walking distance, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, and risk group between index and follow-up were assessed. Of patients with complete follow-up data, ( n = 53) 77% were on combination therapy and risk assessment yielded 98% at intermediate risk at index. At follow-up, 11 patients transitioned from World Health Organisation functional class III to World Health Organisation functional class II, the median (Q1; Q3) change in 6-min walking distance was 6 (−30; 42) meters and in N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide 47 (−410; 603) ng/L, while 89% remained at an intermediate risk. Of those without complete follow-up data, 11 patients died and 2 underwent lung transplantation. In conclusion, pulmonary arterial hypertension patients treated with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, as single or combination therapy and not achieving the pre-specified treatment goals after ≥90 days have an unfavourable clinical course.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 204589401985647 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Dunbar Ivy ◽  
Jeffrey A. Feinstein ◽  
Delphine Yung ◽  
Mary P. Mullen ◽  
Edward C. Kirkpatrick ◽  
...  

Treprostinil, a prostacyclin analogue, is approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in adults. Transition from parenteral to oral treprostinil has been successfully accomplished in adults with PAH but not in children. In this multicenter study, pediatric patients treated with parenteral (Cohort 1) or inhaled (Cohort 2) treprostinil were transitioned to oral treprostinil. Prostacyclin-naïve individuals on background oral PAH therapy received oral treprostinil as add-on therapy (Cohort 3). Successful transition was oral treprostinil dose maintenance through week 24. Patients were monitored for adverse events (AEs), 6-min walk distance (6MWD), PAH symptoms, World Health Organization (WHO) Functional Class (FC), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), and quality of life through 24 weeks. A total of 32 patients were enrolled in the study; 23 (72%) were girls (mean age = 12.2 years). All patients were on background oral PAH therapy. Overall, patients (96.9%) maintained transition to oral treprostinil; one patient (Cohort 1) transitioned to oral treprostinil, then back to parenteral after experiencing syncope and WHO FC change from II to III. Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 received a final mean oral treprostinil dose of 5.6, 3.3, and 4.5 mg t.i.d., respectively. All cohorts had variable changes in 6MWD, cMRI, and CPET. Overall, 12 serious AEs were reported. All patients had drug-related AEs including headache (81%), diarrhea (69%), nausea (66%), vomiting (66%), and flushing (56%). Pediatric patients maintained transition to oral treprostinil with preservation of exercise capacity and WHO FC. Prostanoid-related AEs were most common and similar to those reported in adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 204589401985753
Author(s):  
Lina Caicedo ◽  
Rachel Hopper ◽  
Humberto Garcia Aguilar ◽  
Dunbar Ivy ◽  
Dora Haag ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to determine practice patterns and inter-institutional variability in how acute vasoreactivity testing (AVT) is performed and interpreted in pediatrics throughout the world. A survey was offered to physicians affiliated with the Pediatric & Congenital Heart Disease Taskforce of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI), the Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Network (PPHNET), or the Spanish Registry for Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension (REHIPED), from February to December 2016. The survey requested data about the site-specific protocol for AVT and subsequent management of pediatric patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) or heritable PAH (HPAH). Twenty-eight centers from 13 countries answered the survey. AVT is performed in most centers using inhaled nitric oxide (iNO). Sitbon criteria was used in 39% of the centers, Barst criteria in 43%, and other criteria in 18%. First-line therapy for positive AVT responders in functional class (FC) I/II was calcium channel blocker (CCB) in 89%, but only in 68% as monotherapy. Most centers (71%) re-evaluated AVT-positive patients hemodynamics after 6–12 months; 29% of centers re-evaluated based only on clinical criteria. Most centers (64%) considered a good response as remaining in FC I or II, with near normalization of pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, but a stable FC I/II alone was sufficient criteria in 25% of sites. Protocols and diagnostic criteria for AVT, and therapeutic approaches during follow-up, were highly variable across the world. Reported clinical practice is not fully congruent with current guidelines, suggesting the need for additional studies that better define the prognostic value of AVT for pediatric IPAH patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 204589402094552
Author(s):  
Nathan J. Verlinden ◽  
Raymond L. Benza ◽  
Amresh Raina

The combination of bosentan and sildenafil is commonly used to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); however, there is evidence of a significant drug interaction between these two medications. We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transitioning patients with PAH from the combination of bosentan and sildenafil to alternative therapy. A retrospective database review was performed on 16 patients with PAH who were treated with the combination of bosentan and sildenafil and transitioned to alternative treatment at our center. Invasive and non-invasive patient parameters were collected at baseline and after transition. 56.3% of patients were in World Health Organization functional class (WHO FC) III and a majority of patients (68.7%) were on background prostacyclin therapy. The most common reason for transition was concern for a drug interaction in seven patients (43.8%). The most common transition was bosentan to macitentan in eight patients (50%). Fifteen patients (93.8%) tolerated the transition after a median follow-up of 6.5 months with minor adverse events occurring in four patients (25%). In 11 patients, 6-min walk distance (6MWD) was unchanged comparing baseline to post transition measurements with a median change of +8 m (range: −50 to + 70; P = 0.39). Nine patients (81.8%) had stable (within 15% margin) or significant improvement (increase by ≥15%) in 6MWD after transition. All patients demonstrated stable or improved WHO FC after transition. There were no significant changes after transition in hemodynamics, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) values, or Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term PAH Disease Management (REVEAL) risk scores. In our study, transitioning patients from bosentan and sildenafil to alternative therapy was safe and resulted in clinical stability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 653-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Imai ◽  
Shiro Adachi ◽  
Masahiro Yoshida ◽  
Shigetake Shimokata ◽  
Yoshihisa Nakano ◽  
...  

The 2015 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension include a multidimensional risk assessment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, prognostic validations of this risk assessment are limited, especially outside Europe. Here, we validated the risk assessment strategy in PAH patients in our institution in Japan. Eighty consecutive PAH patients who underwent right heart catheterization between November 2006 and December 2018 were analyzed. Patients were classified as low, intermediate, or high risk by using a simplified version of the risk assessment that included seven variables: World Health Organization functional class, 6-min walking distance, peak oxygen consumption, brain natriuretic peptide, right atrial pressure, mixed venous oxygen saturation, and cardiac index. The high-risk group showed significantly higher mortality than the low- or intermediate-risk group at baseline (P < 0.001 for both comparisons), and the mortalities in the intermediate- and low-risk groups were both low (P = 0.989). At follow-up, patients who improved to or maintained a low-risk status showed better survival than those who did not (P = 0.041). Our data suggest that this risk assessment can predict higher mortality risk and long-term survival in PAH patients in Japan.


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