A Systematic Review and Physiology of Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility Index in Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy.

Abstract

Right heart failure is a major complication following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi) has been evaluated as a haemodynamic marker for right heart failure, but PAPi is dependent on pulmonary vascular resistance. We conducted a systematic review to assess the relationship between PAPi and right heart failure and death in patients undergoing LVAD implantation; and examined the relationship between PAPi cut-off and pulmonary vascular resistance. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL and manually screened retrieved references to identify all clinical studies reporting PAPi in adult patients with a durable LVAD. Eligibility criteria were prespecified and two reviewers independently screened and extracted data; the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess quality of non-randomized studies. This study was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021259009). From 283 unique records, we identified 16 studies reporting haemodynamic assessment in 20,634 adult patients with an implanted durable LVAD. Only 2 studies reported on mortality and in both, a lower PAPi was significantly associated with death. Fifteen studies reported right heart failure data and in ten studies a lower PAPi was significantly associated with right heart failure. Six studies reported on PAPi cut-offs ranging from 0.88 to 3.3; and the cut-offs were directly related to pulmonary vascular resistance (r = 0.6613, p = 0.019). Lower PAPi was associated with right heart failure and death following LVAD implantation, but a single PAPi cut-off cannot be defined, as it is dependent on pulmonary vascular resistance.