ROLE OF MULTISLICE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN EVALUATION OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION SECONDARY TO LUNG DISEASES.

Abstract

Background: pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disorder of the pulmonary vasculature that leads to right sided heart failure and even death if not discovered and properly treated. PAH due to lung disease is usually modest (mean PAP<35) , rarely sever  in less than 1%.

Aim: to evaluate the ability of multislice computed tomography to detect pulmonary arterial  hypertension  in patients with pulmonary  diseases.

Patients and Methods: This study was carried out at chest and radiology departments Zagazig university hospitals during the period from March 2014 to August 2014. Twenty seven with echo diagnosis of elevated pulmonary artery pressure due to known chest diseases were subjected to radiological examinations including plain X-ray, echocardiography and multislice computed tomography (MSCT), the main PA diameter to be measured at point of bifurcation at right angle to its long axis and just lateral to the ascending aorta.

Results: Twenty seven patients included in the study, they were 17 male and 10 female with age ranged from 30 to 72 years. The diameter of the main pulmonary artery (PA) was the first radiological sign to be assessed. Twenty five (25, 92.5%) patients have a ratio between the main pulmonary artery diameter and the ascending aorta diameter (PA / AO ratio) more than (1: 1) which was related to the systolic pulmonary artery pressure reported by Echocardiography.

Conclusion: MSCT can be a reliable tool for detection of pulmonary hypertension secondary to pulmonary diseases.

Keywords: MSCT; pulmonary hypertension