Non invasive assessment of pulmonary hypertension on chest radiograph and non contrast CT

Non invasive assessment of pulmonary hypertension on chest radiograph and non contrast CT Objective: To evaluate relationship between selected qualitative and quantitative parameters and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) in patients with chronic pulmonary disease. To assess, whether a radiologist with use of a set of measurements in combination with positivity of qualitative findings is able reliably predict presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on chest radiographs (CXR) and High-resolution CT (HRCT) of lungs. To examine reproducibility of the used method by assessment of interobserver agreement between radiologists in diagnosing pulmonary hypertsension. Materials and Methods:53 individuals with chronic lung disease underwent right heart cathetrisation, CXR and HRCT. 30 patients had PH confirmed. CXRs and HRCTs were reviewed independetly by three radiologist who besides evaluation of findings stated whether PH is present. Relation between relevant parameters and mPAP, agreement between radiologists and real presence of PH were assessed. Results: The strongest correlation on CXR was found between mPAP and ratio of right descending pulmonary artery width and the left main bronchus (r = 0,256650, p = 0,023362) and right descending pulmonary artery width (r = 0,188897, p = 0,002048). The...