Association Between Pulmonary Artery Diameter on Computed Tomography and Pulmonary Artery Pressure in Lung Transplant Recipients

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the correlation between pulmonary artery diameter (PAD) measured by computed tomography (CT) and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) measured by right heart catheterization (RHC) in patients undergoing lung transplantation.
Material and Methods: This retrospective study included 88 patients who underwent lung transplantation at a tertiary hospital in İstanbul between 2013 and 2021. Patients with available data on PASP measured by RHC and PAD measured by CT were included in the analysis. Data obtained from both the preoperative and postoperative periods were analyzed using the Pearson correlation test.
Results: The mean age of the 88 patients included in the study was 44.5±13.5 years, and 78.4% were male. The mean PASP measured by RHC was 43.44±14.17 mmHg, while the value measured by echocardiography was 38.08±12.71 mmHg. The mean main PAD value measured by preoperative CT was 3.17±0.52 cm. A higher correlation was observed between PAD and PASP in the preoperative period (r=0.773; p<0.001), while a lower correlation was found in the postoperative period (r=0.575; p<0.001).
Conclusion: This study demonstrated a strong correlation between PAD measured by CT and pulmonary arterial pressure measured by RHC, particularly in the preoperative period, in patients undergoing lung transplantation. This finding represents a significant advancement in clinical practice, as it may help reduce complication risks and improve patient comfort.

Keywords: Pulmonary artery, catheterization, lung transplantation, computed tomography