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08:08

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Published on: May 11, 2015

Treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension with simvastatin: an observational study

Wilson T King1, Ronald W Day

  • 1Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. wilsontking@gmail.com, wilson.king@hsc.utah.edu.

Pediatric Pulmonology
|October 23, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Simvastatin may benefit some children with pulmonary hypertension, particularly those with alveolar hypoxia. This study evaluated simvastatin

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Pulmonary Hypertension Research
  • Pharmacological Interventions

Background:

  • Animal and adult studies suggest statins may treat pulmonary hypertension.
  • Investigated simvastatin's effect in pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if simvastatin favorably affects pulmonary arterial pressure in children.
  • Assessed simvastatin's efficacy using non-invasive measures.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewed medical records of children treated with simvastatin for pulmonary hypertension.
  • Compared tricuspid regurgitation gradient measurements pre- and post-treatment using paired t-test.
  • Defined favorable response as a 20% decrease in tricuspid regurgitation gradient or right ventricular anterior wall thickness.

Main Results:

  • No significant overall change in average tricuspid regurgitation gradient (66±21 mmHg vs. 63±28 mmHg).
  • Three of five patients with alveolar hypoxia showed a favorable response.
  • None of the seven patients without alveolar hypoxia responded favorably (P=0.05).

Conclusions:

  • Simvastatin may reduce pulmonary arterial pressure in a specific subset of pediatric patients.
  • Alveolar hypoxia may be a factor associated with favorable simvastatin response.
Abstract

Keywords:
alveolar hypoxiapulmonary arterial hypertensionsimvastatin

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