Pulmonary hypertension in patients with interstitial lung disease

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is commonly seen in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), and is associated with a worse prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of PH in patients with ILD. Demographic and clinical characteristics, physiological studies, six-minute-walking test (6MWT) and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) results were prospectively collected, and compared between patients with and without PH. Pulmonary hypertension was defined by right heart catheterization as mean pulmonary artery pressure > or =25 mm Hg and pulmonary artery occlusion pressure The study cohort consisted of 30 patients. The final diagnoses of these patients were idiopatic pulmonary fibrosis (n=15), asbestosis (n=3), chronic sarcoidosis (n=5), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (n=3), and un-classified (n=4). Fourteen patients (46.6%) were found to have PH. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure in PH patients was 32.9±6.8 mm Hg, and 18.2±3.5 mm Hg in non-PH patients (p 1 , and percentage of predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. Our findings revealed that pulmonary hypertension occurs commonly in ILD. Pulmonary hypertension plays an important and underappreciated role in the functional status of patients with ILD.