• Atsushi Suzuki, Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Naohiro Watanabe, Yasuhiro Kondoh, Tomoki Kimura, Kensuke Kataoka, Toshiaki Matsuda, Toshiki Yokoyama, Koji Sakamoto, Osamu Nishiyama, and Yoshinori Hasegawa.
• Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Tosei General Hospital, Seto, Aichi, Japan.
• Plos One. 2014 Jan 1; 9 (9): e108339.

BackgroundLung-dominant connective tissue disease (LD-CTD) is a new concept for classifying the subset of patients with interstitial pneumonia who have clinical features suggesting an associated CTD, but whose features fall short of a clear diagnosis of CTD under the current rheumatologic classification systems. The impact of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) in LD-CTD has not been sufficiently elucidated.ObjectivesTo evaluate the survival impact of MPAP measured during the initial evaluation in patients with LD-CTD.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the initial evaluation data of 100 LD-CTD patients undergoing pulmonary function test, 6-min walk test (6MWT), and right heart catheterization (RHC).ResultsThe mean MPAP was 16.2±4.4 mm Hg, and 18 patients had MPAP≥20 mm Hg. A univariate Cox proportional hazard model showed that MPAP and several variables have a statistically significant impact on survival. With stepwise, multivariate Cox proportional analysis, MPAP (HR  = 1.293; 95% CI 1.130-1.480; p<0.001) and mean forced vital capacity (FVC) % predicted (HR = 0.958; 95% CI 0.930-0.986; p = 0.004) were shown to be independent determinants of survival.ConclusionsHigher MPAP and lower %FVC at the initial evaluation were significant independent prognostic factors of LD-CTD. MPAP evaluation provides additional information of disease status and will help physicians to predict mortality in LD-CTD.

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