Assessment of normal hemodynamic profile of mechanical pulmonary prosthesis by doppler echocardiography: a prospective cross-sectional study

Objectives Very few reports have described the Doppler-derived echocardiographic parameters for mechanical pulmonary valve prosthesis (MPVP). This study aims to describe the normal Doppler hemodynamic profile of MPVP using Doppler echocardiography. Methods The current prospective, single center observational study enrolled 108 patients who underwent pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) surgery for the first time and had a normally functioning prosthesis post-operation. The hemodynamic performance of MPVPs, considering flow dependent and flow independent parameters, was evaluated at two follow-up points, at week one and week four post-operation. All assessments were conducted by an experienced echocardiographer. Results The mean age (±SD) of the participants was 26.4 (±8.98). Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) was the most common underlying disease leading to PVR, with a prevalence of 88%. At first week post-operation, measurement of indices reported the following values (±SD): peak pressure gradient (PPG): 18.51(±7.64) mm Hg; mean pressure gradient (MPG): 10.88(±5.62) mm Hg; peak velocity (PV): 1.97(±0.43)m/s; doppler velocity index (DVI): 0.61(±18); pulmonary velocity acceleration time (PVAT): 87.35(±15.16) ms; effective orifice area (EOA): 2.98(±1.02) cm 2 ;and effective orifice area to body surface area ratio (EOA/ BSA): 1.81(±0.62) cm 2 /m 2 . Comparing these measurements with those obtained from the second follow-up (at week four post-op) failed to hold significant difference in all values except for PVAT, which had increased from its primary value ( p = 0.038). Also, right ventricular (RV) function showed significant improvement throughout the follow up period. Conclusion The findings of this study help strengthen the previously scarce data pool and better establish the normal values for Doppler hemodynamics in mechanical pulmonary prosthesis.