TITLE:
Echocardiographic Measurement of Pulmonary Arterial Pressure in Patients with Sarcoidosis
AUTHORS:
Ipek Candemir, Ozlem Ozdemir Kumbasar
KEYWORDS:
Sarcoidosis, PH, ECO, PFT, 6 MWT
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Respiratory Diseases,
Vol.6 No.1,
February
26,
2016
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a significant complication and is poor prognostic
factor for sarcoidosis. We evaluated various tests of diagnosis and treatment as well as the associations
between PH and value of six-minute walk test (6 MWT) in sarcoidosis patients. Methods:
This study was conducted with fifty patients with sarcoidosis. We grouped patients according to
echocardiography. Results: PH prevalence in sarcoidosis was found to be 10%. In cases with likely
PH, FEV1%, FVC%, MMF% was found to be lower. Although DLCO was less than 80% in the group
of likely PH and over 80% in the other, there were no statistical differences between two groups.
Mean value of FVC/DLCO ratio was 1.1 ± 0.38 in group of likely PH. There was no significant difference
between groups. Mean distance of 6 MWT was 464 ± 105 m in all cases. There were no statistical
differences between two groups in 6 MWT. Significant desaturation with exercise was observed
in cases with PH (p = 0.007). Conclusion: In all stages, patients who have longer disease
duration and abnormal pulmonary function tests, should be examined about PH. Patients should
undergo 6 MWT and presence of desaturation after 6 MWT, even without hypoxemia, should be
looked after and dealt with accordingly.