Noninvasive Estimation of Diastolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure by Doppler Analysis of Tricuspid Regurgitation Velocity in Pediatric Patients

Purpose.  Diastolic pulmonary artery pressure (dPAP) is equal to right ventricular pressure at the time of pulmonary valve opening. We studied the accuracy of dPAP estimated from Doppler profile of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) jet in pediatric patients. Methods.  Echocardiograms were prospectively performed on consecutive pediatric heart transplant recipients undergoing right-heart catheterization and endomyocardial biopsy. An estimate of dPAP was obtained by superimposing the pulmonary valve opening time, indexed to the electrocardiogram, onto the TR Doppler tracing. Echocardiographic estimates of dPAP from end-diastolic pulmonary regurgitation (PR) were obtained for comparison. Catheter-derived right atrial pressure was added to the Doppler gradient in both groups. Doppler estimates and catheter-derived measurements of dPAP were compared using Lin correlation and Bland–Altman analysis. Results.  Sixty-five catheterization studies were performed on 35 patients (20 males): median age at enrollment: 12.1 years (4 months to 18 years); median time: since transplant of 1.2 years (21 days to 16.1 years). Adequate TR signal was obtained in a significantly higher proportion of patients than an adequate PR signal (65% vs. 43%, respectively, P= .007). Median catheter-derived dPAP was 12 mm Hg (6–30 mm Hg) and right atrial pressure was 6 mm Hg (1–17 mm Hg). Median estimated dPAP from TR was 15 mm Hg (range: 7–29 mm Hg), with the Lin correlation coefficient of 0.74 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6–0.87). Median estimate for dPAP from PR was 10 mm Hg (range: 2–25 mm Hg), with the Lin correlation coefficient of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58–0.9). There was excellent interobserver agreement for dPAP from TR with the Lin correlation coefficient of 0.946 (95% CI: 0.803–0.986). Conclusion.  Doppler estimation of dPAP from TR is a novel, reliable, noninvasive method and compares favorably with estimation from PR. Adequate TR signal for estimation of dPAP can be obtained more frequently in children than adequate PR signal, thereby increasing the proportion of patients in whom dPAP can be estimated noninvasively.