ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of preoperative use of high-dose simvastatin on the pulmonary artery pres-sure in congenital heart disease with left-to-right shunt. METHODS:86 patients with left-to-right shunt congenital heart disease who were planned to implement interventional occlusion therapy were randomly divided into control group(43 cases)and observa-tion group(43 cases). Patients in both groups were given digitalis,diuretics,anticoagulants and other basic treatments;On this basis, control group received Sildenafil citrate tablet,25 mg,3 times a day,orally given 1 h before a meal;observation group received Simvastatin tablet 80 mg,once every evening,orally. The treatment course for both groups was 7 d. Mean pulmonary hypertension (mPAP),N terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP),arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2),arterial oxygen ten-sion(PaO2),pulmonary blood circulation ratio(Qq/Qs),pulmonary pressure variation(Rp/Rs),pulmonary vascular resistance in-dex(PVRi)before and after treatment in 2 groups were observed,and related indicators of liver functions [alanine aminotransfer-ase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)] and myocardial enzymes [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH),creatine kinase MB(CK-MB)] were detected. The incidence of adverse reactions were deteted. RESULTS:Before treatment,there were no significant differ-ences in mPAP,NT-proBNP,SaO2,PaO2,Qq/Qs,Rp/Rs,PVRi,ALT,AST,LDH and CKMB levels in 2 groups(P>0.05). Af-ter treatment,mPAP,NT-proBNP,Rp/Rs and PVRi levels were significantly lower than before,SaO2,PaO2,and Qq/Qs levels were significantly higher than before and Qq/Qs level in observation group was higher than these in control group.The difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). There was 1 patient showed severe liver injury in observation group and exited the test;the other 85 patients showed no obvious adverse reactions,with successful surgery and good prognosis. CONCLUSIONS:The preoper-ative use of high-dose simvastatin shows obvious effect on controlling mean pulmonary hypertension,reducing mPAP,NT-proB-NP,Rp/Rs and PVRi levels and increasing SaO2,PaO2,and Qq/Qs levels before operation,with good safety.
ABSTRACT
The hemodynamic findings related to the histologic changes in the small pulmonary arteries in congenital heart disease were analyzed with a left-to-right shunt. A lung biopsy was performed during the repair because of pulmonary arterial (PA) hypertension (mean PA pressure > or = 15 mmHg) in 38 patients. There were 13 patients whose age ranged from 2 years to 25 years old. A preoperative cardiac catheterization was performed to locate the site of the defect and to determine the preoperative hemodynamic findings. Among them, 29 patients had pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 2.5 unit/m2. The lung biopsy specimens were investigated microscopically for the Heath- Edward grade, morphometric analysis of medial wall thickness (MWT) and the rate of the decrease in the pulmonary arteriolar concentration (PAC) obtained by the alvoelo-arterial ratio divided by patients' age. All patients were in the Heath-Edward grade I to III (29 patients in grade I). This grade correlated with the MWT, but did not correlate with a decrease in the PAC. The MWT and the rate of the decrease in the PAC did not accompany each other, but either one had the tendency dominate the pattern in individual patients. The MWT had a close correlation with the mean PA pressure and PVR, and an even closer correlation in patients with a high PVR and those older than 2 years of age. The rate of the decreased in the PAC showed a weak correlation with the shunt volume in patients over 2 years of age or with a large shunt. In the high flow group (PVR 2.0, n=14) the MWT was significantly thinner and the rate of the decrease in the PAC was significantly higher than the high resistance group (PVR > 2.5 unit/m2, Qp/Qs2 < 2.0, n=13). The rate of the decrease in the PAC correlated with the patients' age, but the MWT did not. The lung biopsy results in patients who had both left-to-right shunts and pulmonary hypertension showed that the rate of the decrease in the PAC was weakly related to the shunt volume and the MWT was related to the PA pressure and PVR. Either an increased MWT or the rate of the decrease in the PAC tended to dominate. These phenomena were prominent in patients older than 2 in whom a wide range of individual variations were noted in the morphometric pattern. The medial hypertrophy and the rate of the decrease in the PAC may be induced by different stimuli or that medial hypertrophy may play a role in preventing PAC decrease.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Heart Defects, Congenital/pathology , Hemodynamics , Pulmonary Artery/pathologyABSTRACT
We performed this study to assess the correlation of residual pulmonary hypertension in the immediate postoperative period with that in the late follow-up period, to assess the histologic changes of pulmonary arteries (PA) at the time of repair for patients with congenital heart disease consisting of left-to-right shunt, and to clarify the role of lung biopsy in determining the operability and reversibility of pulmonary vascular changes. Lung biopsy was performed during repair in 38 patients, with a wide range of age, who had congenital left to right shunt and pulmonary hypertension. All were Heath-Edward grade III or less. Morphometric study included measurement of medial wall thickness (MWT) and decrease rate of pulmonary arterial concentration (PAC). Mean PA pressure in the immediate postoperative period was measured in all 38 patients. Follow-up cardiac catheterization was performed in 15 patients (average 3.8 years after repair). At operation, 5 patients of this late follow-up group were under 2 years of age and the other 10 were 2 or more. During catheterization, pulmonary hemodynamic reaction was observed both under room air inhalation and after inhalation of hypoxic gas FiO2 0.15. Mean PA pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in the immediate postoperative period had a significant correlation with PA pressure and PVR values before the operation, but not with morphometry, Heath-Edward grade, or with pulmonary hemodynamics in late follow-up. During the late follow-up study, 5 of the 15 patients had pulmonary hypertension (defined as mean PA pressure > or = 15 mmHg) under room air inhalation, and PA hypertension was induced in 4 additional patients after hypoxic gas inhalation. There was no incidence of PA pressure or PVR values registering above the preoperative level. The degree of PA hypertension showed a correlation with the rate of PAC decrease and also with patients' age-at-operation. Multiple regression analysis showed that both the rate of PAC decrease and the age-at-operation contributed significantly to the degree of PA hypertension. Some of the patients over age 2 had a decreased rate of PAC above the regression line, which none of the patients under age 2 experienced. In patients with Heath-Edward grade III or less, residual pulmonary hypertension in the immediate postoperative period was not correlated with histology, but in late follow-up, it was with PAC and the age-at-operation. Therefore, a decrease of PAC is assumed to be a totally or partially irreversible pulmonary vascular change depending on the patient's age-at-operation, while medial hypertrophy is thought to be a reversible pulmonary vascular change. Lung biopsy could play an important role in determining the reversibility of pulmonary vascular obstruction, particularly in patients older than 2 years. Ed- re highlights above: such hyphenation is optional, but if used then it should be applied consistently throughout the paper. As 3 of the 4 entries in the abstract use it, I have maintained it consistently below.