Echocardiography Monitoring of Pulmonary Hypertension after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Pediatric Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with high morbidity in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, owing to the lack of sequential echocardiography, the nature of the condition is not fully understood. This study was conducted to investigate whether routine echocardiography performed after HSCT could detect patients with PH at an earlier stage and elucidate the role of intervention using tadalafil. The study population comprised 93 consecutive children age <18 years who underwent a total of 109 HSCTs. All patients underwent routine transthoracic echocardiography during HSCT. Four children (4%) with a median age of 4 years (range, 0.7 to 6 years) were found to have PH, and their median tricuspid regurgitation peak velocity (TRV) was 4.1 m/s (range, 3.5 to 4.2 m/s). PH was diagnosed at a median of 52 days (range, 21 to 118 days) after HSCT. Three of them were diagnosed with neuroblastoma, and 1 was diagnosed with infantile leukemia. One patient developed PH after autologous HSCT, and 3 received killer immunoglobulin-like receptor ligand-mismatched cord blood. Busulfan was used for conditioning in all patients, and the proportion of patients receiving this medication was significantly higher in the PH group compared with the non-PH group (100% versus 30%; P=.011). Three of the 4 patients had a durable response (TRV ≤2.8 m/s) at a median of 46 days (range, 14 to 79 days) after starting treatment with tadalafil. No patient experienced exacerbation of PH, and treatment was completed at median of 96 days (range, 46 to 212 days). Our data suggest that routine echocardiography monitoring after HSCT should be considered in children receiving busulfan, although the precise follow-up timing needs further study. In addition, safe and effective administration of tadalafil must be ensured by close monitoring.