[Is there a typical radiologic picture of primary pulmonary hypertension? Study of 18 cases]

The conventional chest radiographs were studied of 18 patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, waiting for, or treated with lung transplantation in the Papworth Hospital. The goal of the study was to find out whether there is a pattern characteristic of primary pulmonary hypertension. The following points were considered: a) pulmonary transparency; b) the hila; c) the left hemidiaphragm; d) the pulmonary artery; e) the right ventricle; f) the right atrium; g) the left ventricle. A score was assigned for any degree of abnormality of the points mentioned above. As a result, a radiological pattern was found that can: 1) confirm the presence of pulmonary hypertension; 2) exclude that this hypertension has a detectable cause; 3) measure the severity of the disease, particularly with regard to hypertension degree. The conclusion is that there is a radiological pattern strongly suggestive of primary pulmonary hypertension and that conventional radiology can help in detecting and monitoring this rare disease, which today can only be treated by means of transplantation.