Morphological study of pulmonary arterioles in patients with ventricular septal defect associated with pulmonary hypertension

폐동맥고혈압을 동반한 심실중격결손증 환자의 폐세동맥의 형태학적 고찰

Thirty four patients with a ventricular septal defect, aged 2 months to 24 years [median 2.33 years], had lung biopsies during open heart procedures to assess the degree of pulmonary vascular disease. The patients were divided into two groups according to their age; group 1 - under 2 years of age [15 patients], and group 2- over 2 years of age [19 patients]. The, pathologic change of the pulmonary arterioles was correlated with pre-operative hemodynamic data in 34 patients. There was no significant correlation between the severity of pulmonary vascular disease according to Heath-Edwards classification and the patients age [X2=1.8381, P=0.1751 ]. There was a significant correlation between degree of medial wall thickness and arteriolar diameter and the level of preoperative peak pulmonary artery pressure and peak systemic artery pressure [Pp/Ps]. Also, there was a good correlation between the preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance and systemic vascular resistance [Rp/Rs]. There was no significant correlation between wall thickness and Pp/Ps, and Rp/Rs below the age of 2 years. We conclude that, in patients over 2 years of age, there was a significant correlation between the medial wall thickness of the pulmonary arteriole and elevation of Pp/Ps and Rp/Rs. This is not true in patients under 2 years of age.