Accuracy of Doppler-Derived Estimation of Pulmonary Vascular Resistance in Congenital Heart Disease: An Index of Operability

Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) is a critical and essential parameter during the assessment and selection of modality of treatment in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) accompanied by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Cardiac catheterization is the “gold standard” but is an invasive method for PVR measurement. A noninvasive and reliable method for estimation of PVR in children has been a major challenge and most desirable during past decades, especially for those who need repeated measurements. In a prospective study and among consecutive patients who were referred for cardiac catheterizations, PVR was calculated as the ratio of the transpulmonary pressure gradient (∆P) to the amount of the pulmonary flow (QP) accordingly for 20 patients with CHD and high PAH. Subsequently and noninvasively, PVR was assessed for these patients by a Doppler echocardiography-derived index defined as the ratio of the tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV_m/s) to the velocity time integral (VTI_cm) of the right-ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). There was a good correlation between PVR measured at catheterization (PVR_cath) and TRV/VTI_m ratio; the mean of three measurements of VTI (VTI_m) with R ² = 0.53 (p = 0.008). In addition, a TRV/VTI_m value of 0.2 provided a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity of 100% for PVR >6 Woods units (WU) as well as sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 90% for a PVR equal to 8 WU. PVR value between 6 and 8 WU by catheterization has been considered as a cut-off point for intervention in children with left-to-right shunts and PAH. In conclusion, Doppler-derived TRV/VTI_m ratio is a reliable index that may be helpful as a supplementary diagnostic tool for the selection of modality of treatment and follow-up of patients with PAH and increased PVR.