Age should not be a barrier for pulmonary endarterectomy in carefully selected patients. Issue 6 (7th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Newnham, Michael; Hernández-Sánchez, Jules; Dunning, John; Ng, Choo; Tsui, Steven; Bunclark, Katherine; Sheares, Karen; Taboada, Dolores; Toshner, Mark; Pepke-Zaba, Joanna; Jenkins, David; Cannon, John
• Is Part Of: European respiratory journal. Volume 50:Issue 6(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-12-07
• Subjects: Respiratory organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiration -- Periodicals; 616.2
• DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01804-2017
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0903-1936

Abstract

Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice in operable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) with excellent long-term outcomes [1]. It is a complex surgical procedure requiring cardiopulmonary bypass and removal of obstructive thromboembolic material during periods of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest [1]. We have observed an increase in the number of older CTEPH patients referred for consideration of PEA, which is consistent with other cardiothoracic surgeries. The UK population is ageing with a projected 3% increase in subjects aged >85 years in the next 20 years [2]. This may be mirrored by patients with CTEPH getting older, as the incidence of pulmonary embolism, which frequently precedes CTEPH, markedly increases with age [3, 4]. Furthermore, an epidemiological analysis by Gall et al. [5] has projected that the annual incidence of CTEPH will increase over the next 10 years. Therefore, the management of CTEPH in older patients is a pertinent topic for investigation. CTEPH patients over 80 years old undergoing pulmonary endarterectomy have similar outcomes to those under 80 years http://ow.ly/MlCj30guFPu