Mortality in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Treated With Continuous Prostanoids

Parenteral prostanoids are considered the treatment of choice for patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Prognostic studies for patients treated in the modern era are limited.

In this retrospective cohort study, patients initiating IV epoprostenol or IV or subcutaneous (SC) treprostinil therapy for PAH from 2007 to 2016 at UT Southwestern and The Ohio State University were included. Transplant-free survival was assessed from the time of IV/SC therapy initiation and from the time of first follow-up. The utility of traditional prognostic measures was assessed by using categories (lower, intermediate, and higher risk) recommended in the 2015 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society guidelines for functional class, 6-min walk distance, brain natriuretic peptide or N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level, and hemodynamic results.

Patients with group 1 PAH receiving IV epoprostenol (n = 132), IV treprostinil (n = 25), or SC treprostinil (n = 38) were included. Survival from IV/SC prostanoid initiation was 84%, 77%, and 67% at 1, 2, and 3 years. Follow-up assessment was performed after a minimum of 90 days' therapy (mean, 356 ± 247 days) in 163 patients. After treatment with an IV/SC prostanoid, better functional class, 6-min walk distance, brain natriuretic peptide/N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level, and mixed venous O₂ saturation (but not cardiac index) was associated with survival, as was the total number of lower risk and higher risk findings. Having zero lower risk findings or two or more higher risk findings was associated with particularly poor outcomes.

In patients with PAH receiving treatment with a parenteral prostanoid, survival was significantly associated with the number of guideline-recommended lower risk and higher risk criteria achieved at first follow-up.