Kidney Dysfunction, Hepatic Impairment, and Lipid Metabolism Abnormalities in Patients with Precapillary Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a global health issue that has profound medical and research implications. Methods: This retrospective study examined changes in renal and liver function, as well as lipid metabolism, over a 12-month period in 49 adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). All cases were admitted, managed, and followed up with in the PH Center, County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Targu Mures, Romania. Results: Kidney dysfunction was observed in 12.24% of cases at baseline, decreasing to 8.16% at 12 months, and CTEPH patients were more affected. In particular, CTEPH patients exhibited an improvement in renal function, confirmed by an increase in their glomerular filtration rates. Hepatic impairment was present in 57.14% of subjects at baseline, declining to 42.86% at 12 months, with significant improvements noted in the PAH group. Lipid metabolic dysregulations were experienced by 22.45% of all patients at baseline, decreasing to 16.33% at 6 months, with a slow elevation to 24.49% at 12 months, but with no statistically significant differences. Pharmacological regimens were adjusted in accordance with the PH groups, a patient’s functional and clinical response, and laboratory tests. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the multi-organ damage in PH and the importance of individualized treatment approaches.

Keywords

• pulmonary arterial hypertension
• chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension
• kidney dysfunction
• hepatic impairment
• lipid metabolism abnormalities