[Differential diagnosis of primary vascular pulmonary hypertension]

The paper is concerned with 18 patients suffering from primary vascular pulmonary hypertension. Of these, 7 patients had the thromboembolic pattern of primary vascular pulmonary hypertension and 11 primary pulmonary hypertension. All the patients underwent comprehensive examinations including routine clinical examinations, x-raying of the chest organs, ECG, ultrasound cardiography, measurement of the pressure in the pulmonary artery by invasive and non-invasive methods. The patients were also subjected to radionuclide studies using radionuclide scintigraphy of the lungs by means of 99mTc microspheres and radionuclide phlebography. Analysis of the clinical picture and of the findings obtained with the majority of instrumental methods including radionuclide scintigraphy did not reveal any appreciable differences between the patients with the thromboembolic pattern of primary vascular pulmonary hypertension and those suffering from primary pulmonary hypertension. Radionuclide phlebography has demonstrated that the patients with the thromboembolic pattern showed the changes in the phlebogram significantly more often than those with primary pulmonary hypertension. It is advisable that radionuclide phlebography should be included into the schedule for examining patients with primary vascular pulmonary hypertension.