Shear Wave Dispersion Slope of the Liver Can Predict Adverse Outcomes in Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) often causes right-sided heart failure (HF), inducing organ damage. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a novel ultrasound technique for characterizing tissue. Some studies have reported that shear wave dispersion slope (SWDS) enables the assessment of early hepatic damage in HF. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of SWDS in patients with PH.This single-center cohort study enrolled 36 patients with PH who underwent SWE at Okayama University Hospital between March 2018 and April 2021. Patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of the median value of SWDS: low SWDS group (SWDS < 12.4 m/second/kHz, n = 18) and high SWDS group (SWDS ≥ 12.4 m/second/kHz, n = 18). The primary endpoint was the complex of all-cause death or hospitalization for HF. During the follow-up of 391 ± 288 days, all-cause death or hospitalization for HF occurred in 8 patients. One patient died in the low SWDS group. Three patients died and 4 patients were hospitalized for HF in the high group. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the event-free survival rate was significantly worse in the high SWDS group than in the low SWDS group (log-rank, P = 0.01). In univariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, high SWDS was associated with the events (hazard ratio 10.8; 95% confidence interval 1.89-202, P = 0.005).An elevated SWDS was associated with a high rate of events in patients with PH. SWDS has the potential to predict adverse outcomes in patients with PH.