Wedge pulmonary angiography to determine the accuracy of pulmonary wedge pressure

Wedge pulmonary angiography was done in 11 patients with acute respiratory failure, to assess the accuracy of pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (WP) as an estimation of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). The pulmonary artery (PA) catheter tip was placed into a dependent position in the lungs. Although the pulmonary vein was not visualized in 7 of 11 patients, in no case was there a significant difference between WP and LVEDP. When WP is no greater than 15 mm Hg, wedge pulmonary angiography does not reflect the accuracy of WP; however, left ventricular filling pressure can be accurately estimated by WP in most of these patients.