Pulmonary hypertension in posttubercular pulmonary fibrosis: A prospective study from Western Himalayas

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) has been linked to a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Studies that assessed the impact of treated PTB as a cause of disability have focused on impairment of pulmonary function. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) must be assessed in patients with posttubercular pulmonary fibrosis. The goal of this study was to use Doppler echocardiography to determine the prevalence of PH in individuals with posttubercular pulmonary fibrosis. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective cross-sectional hospital-based study carried out over a period of 1 year. Patients having posttubercular pulmonary fibrosis were enrolled after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria, further evaluated by Doppler echocardiography for PH. Results: A total of 80 patients with the most common age group of 31–40 years and female predominance were involved in the study. Dyspnea was the most common symptom being reported by 100% of the patients, followed by cough (32.5%), hemoptysis (22.5%), chest pain (10%), and syncope (2.5%). Tricuspid regurgitation velocity was found 3.4 m/s in 17.5% patients. In our study, mild PH was present in 25%, moderate PH in 6.3%, and severe PH in 16.3% of patients with an insignificant P = 0.200. Conclusions: Tuberculosis may have a causal association with PH. The results of the present study suggest that 2D echocardiography is a useful tool in diagnosing pulmonary hypertension in posttubercular pulmonary fibrosis.

Keywords

• echocardiography
• fibrosis
• hypertension
• posttubercular
• pulmonary