evaluation of the correlation of pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah) with the pulmonary artery trunk diameter and serum level of n-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (nt-probnp) in patients with pah

Background: due to its non-specific symptoms, pulmonary arterial hypertension (pah) is difficult to diagnose via non-invasive methods. various diagnostic tests are required to evaluate pah patients. the increased diameter of the main pulmonary artery in computed tomography (ct) imaging represents a high probability of pah. moreover, n-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (nt-probnp) and pro b-type natriuretic peptide (probnp) can be considered as prognostic predictors in patients with pah. objectives: this study aimed to evaluate the correlation of ct-based main pulmonary artery diameter (mpad) and the serum level of nt-probnp (as a strong pro-inflammatory factor) with the severity of pah in echocardiography among patients with pah. patients and methods: in this cross-sectional study, a total of 63 hospitalized patients with pah due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were recruited from 2019 to 2020 after initial evaluations and collection of serum nt-probnp measurements and echocardiographic findings. on the chest ct scans, the largest diameter of the pulmonary artery trunk was determined, and then, correlation of ct-based mpad with both pah severity on echocardiography and nt-probnp level in patients with pah were evaluated. results: the results of the present study on 63 patients (70% male; mean age, 67.02 years) showed a significant positive correlation between the mpad and nt-probnp level (r = 0.444, p < 0.001). moreover, a significant positive relationship was observed between the pulmonary artery pressure (pap) and nt-probnp (r = 0.353, p = 0.005) and also between mpad and pap (r = 0.306, p = 0.015). in pah patients, the mean values of mpad, pap, and nt-probnp were 32.58 mm, 47.9 mmhg, and 6563 pg/ml, respectively. conclusion: considering the significant positive correlation between pap, mpad, and nt-probnp level in subgroup comparisons based on mpad and pap, if the mpad is abnormal on ct scan, additional echocardiographic assessments and serum nt-probnp measurements can be helpful.