Perioperative Management of Pulmonary Endarterectomy-Perspective from the UK National Health Service

How Would I Treat My Own Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension in the Perioperative Period?

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) results from an incomplete resolution of acute pulmonary embolism, leading to occlusive organized thrombi, vascular remodeling, and associated microvasculopathy with pulmonary hypertension (PH). A definitive CTEPH diagnosis requires PH confirmation by right-heart catheterization and evidence of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease on imaging studies. Surgical removal of the organized fibrotic material by pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest represents the treatment of choice. One-third of patients with CTEPH are not deemed suitable for surgical treatment, and medical therapy or interventional balloon pulmonary angioplasty presents alternative treatment options. Pulmonary endarterectomy in patients with technically operable disease significantly improves symptoms, functional capacity, hemodynamics, and quality of life. Perioperative mortality is <2.5% in expert centers where a CTEPH multidisciplinary team optimizes patient selection and ensures the best preoperative optimization according to individualized risk assessment. Despite adequate pulmonary artery clearance, patients might be prone to perioperative complications, such as right ventricular maladaptation, airway bleeding, or pulmonary reperfusion injury. These complications can be treated conventionally, but extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been included in their management recently. Patients with residual PH post-PEA should be considered for medical or percutaneous interventional therapy.

Time trends of pulmonary endarterectomy in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is considered as a rare but severe complication after acute pulmonary embolism and is potentially curable by pulmonary endarterectomy. We aimed to evaluate, over an 11-year period, time trends of in-hospital outcomes of pulmonary endarterectomy in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients and to investigate predictors of the in-hospital course. We analyzed data on the characteristics, comorbidities, treatments, and in-hospital outcomes for all chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients treated with pulmonary endarterectomy in the German nationwide inpatient sample between 2006 and 2016. Overall, 1398 inpatients were included. Annual number of pulmonary endarterectomy increased from 67 in 2006 to 194 in 2016 (P < 0.001), in parallel with a significant decrease of in-hospital mortality (10.9% in 2008 to 1.5% in 2016; P < 0.001). Patients' characteristics shifted slightly toward older age and higher prevalence of chronic renal insufficiency and obesity over time, whereas duration of hospital stay decreased over time. Independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were age (OR 1.03 (95%CI: 1.01-1.05); P = 0.001), right heart failure (2.55 (1.37-4.76); P = 0.003), in-hospital complications such as ischemic stroke (6.87 (1.06-44.70); P = 0.044) and bleeding events like hemopneumothorax (24.93 (6.18-100.57); P < 0.001). Annual pulmonary endarterectomy volumes per center below 10 annual procedures were associated with higher rates of adverse in-hospital outcomes. Annual numbers of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients treated with pulmonary endarterectomy increased markedly in Germany between 2006 and 2016, in parallel with a decrease of in-hospital mortality. Our findings suggest that perioperative management of pulmonary endarterectomy, institutional experience, and patient selection is crucial and has improved over time.

Surgical and Percutaneous Interventions for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

The treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension has expanded considerably. The ability to endarterectomize chronic thromboembolic material, the availability of pulmonary hypertension medical therapy to treat inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and/or residual pulmonary hypertension, and the rebirth of pulmonary balloon angioplasty have changed the management landscape. Patient selection requires a multidisciplinary evaluation at an experienced center. What is inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension to one group may be operable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension to another. The ultimate challenge then becomes which intervention provides the optimal long-term outcome for any individual patient.