ObjectiveTo determine the ability of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to distinguish chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) from chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED). MethodsFifty patients diagnosed with CTED and fifty-eight patients with CTEPH in the the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2019 to February 2022 were retrospectively included. The basic characteristics including age, gender, body mass index, symptom duration, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NTpro-BNP), parameters of arterial blood gas analysis, right heart catheterization, echocardiography, pulmonary function, and CPET were all compared between patients with CTED and those with CTEPH. ResultsPatients with CTEPH displayed longer symptom duration, increased NTpro-BNP, decreased arterial partial pressure of oxygen, larger right atrial and ventricular diameters, and impaired worse resting pulmonary diffusing function compared with those with CTED (P<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the resting pulmonary ventilation function between the two groups (P>0.05). Among the CPET parameters of the CTEPH group, peak exercise oxygen uptake per kilogram, oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold, oxygen pulse, oxygen uptake efficiency slope and oxygen saturation were all decreased, while the minute ventilation-carbon dioxide production at anaerobic threshold (VE/VCO2@AT) and VE/VCO2 slope were increased (P<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference in heart rate reserve and breathing reserve (P>0.05). Furthermore, VE/VCO2@AT showed high accuracy for distinguishing CTEPH from CTED (sensitivity, 0.825; specificity, 0.860; and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.897). ConclusionsPatients with CTEPH showed more significant decreased exercise endurance, diffusion dysfunction, and hypoxemia during exercise and insufficient increase in cardiac output compared with CTED patients. Therefore, it is feasible to apply CPET as a new objective examination to distinguish CTED from CTEPH.
Objective To compare the early and mid-term results between Fontan operation and anatomic correction for congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA). Methods The clinical data of 53 patients with ccTGA who underwent anatomic correction and Fontan operation from January 2009 to September 2021 in our hospital were reviewed, including 41 males and 12 females with a mean age of 55.02 (3-168) months. They were divided into an anatomic correction group (16 patients) and a Fontan operation group (37 patients) according to the operation. The hospitalization mortality, survival rate, postoperative complications, and free rate from re-intervention between the two groups were compared. Another 180 healthy children were recruited as a control group, and 14 children were matched with the propensity score matching method as a Fontan control group. The results of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) between the Fontan operation group and the Fontan control group were compared. Results There were 2 (12.5%) early deaths and 3 (18.8%) early re-intervention in the anatomic correction group, while 1 death and 2 re-intervention in the Fontan operation group. In addition, there were 9 patients (56.3%) in the anatomic correction group and 6 (16.2%) patients in the Fontan operation group suffering from arrhythmia after operation, respectively. Compared with the anatomic correction group, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamping time, intubation time and ICU stay were significantly shortened in the Fontan operation group (P<0.05). CPET results showed that, percent predicted max VO2 in the Fontan operation group was lower than that in the Fontan control group (0.84±0.11 vs. 0.99±0.12, P＜0.05). The patients were followed up for 0.5-126.0 months. Two patients were lost in the Fontan operation group. There was no death and 1 re-intervention in the anatomic correction group, while no death or re-intervention in the Fontan operation group. The 1-year, 5-year and 10-year transplant-free survival rate of the anatomic correction group and the Fontan operation group was 87.5%, 87.5%, 87.5% and 97.3%, 97.3%, 97.3%, respectively (P＞0.05). The 48 patients were classified as grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ in cardiac function in the last follow-up. Conclusion There is no statistical difference in the transplant-free survival rate between the anatomic correction and the Fontan operation group. The postoperative complications in the Fontan operation group are decreased than those in the anatomic correction group. The Fontan operation is also a good choice, even though the patients with ccTGA meet the condition of the procedure of anatomic correction.
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of comorbidity for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) on exercise tolerance and cardiopulmonary function. MethodsNSCLC patients who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) before surgery were retrospectively included. According to the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score, patients were divided into two groups: a CCI≥3 group and a CCI＜3 group. The patients were matched with a ratio of 1 : 1 by propensity score matching according to the age, body mass index, sex, smoking histology, exercise habits, pathological stage and type of surgery. After matching, CPET indexes were compared between the two groups to explore the differences in exercise tolerance and cardiopulmonary function. ResultsA total of 276 patients were included before matching. After matching, 56 patients were enrolled with 28 patients in each group, including 38 (67.9%) males and 18 (32.1%) females with an average age of 70.7±6.8 years. Compared with the CCI＜3 group, work rate at peak (WR peak), WR peak/predicted (WR peak%), kilogram oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (VO2/kg AT), VO2/kg peak, VO2/kg peak%, peak carbon dioxide output (VCO2 peak), the minute ventilation to carbon dioxide production slope (VE/VCO2 slope), O2 pulse peak and O2 pulse peak% of CCI≥3 group were statistically different (P＜0.05). Among them, the rate of postoperative pulmonary complication in the CCI≥3 group was higher than that in the CCI＜3 group (60.7% vs. 32.1%, P=0.032). ConclusionIn the NSCLC patients, exercise tolerance and cardiopulmonary function decreased in patients with CCI≥3 compared with those with CCI<3. CPET can provide an objective basis for risk assessment in patients with comorbidity scored by CCI for pulmonary resection.