Pulmonary artery ganglionic plexi radiofrequency ablation using non-fluoroscopic navigation for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension: a pilot study

Aim. To evaluate the safety of the pulmonary artery radiofrequency catheter denervation in different pulmonary hypertension (PH) clinical forms.

Methods. 6 patients with different clinical forms of PH were included in the study with the further randomization into two groups. Group I patient (n = 3) underwent pulmonary denervation and group II patients (n = 3) underwent a placebo procedure. The examination of patients included routine clinical tests, the measurements of N-terminal precursor of the brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, coagulation blood tests, ECG recordings, echocardiography (with the estimation of mean pulmonary artery pressure), chest X-ray, the assessment of the respiratory function, right heart catheterization (RHC), six-minute walk test (6MWT), the assessment of the quality of life according to the SF-36 questionnaire. Intraoperative measures indicating the safety of the procedure were also studied.

Results. There were no statistically significant differences found in the intraoperative data between the groups. None intraoperative and postoperative complications during in the in-hospital period found. Mean pulmonary artery pressure reduced in two patients without any elevations 24 hours following the intervention. A decrease in mean pulmonary arterial pressure from 48 to 41 mm Hg was observed in a patient with primary PH. The second patient with post-embolic pulmonary hypertension demonstrated a reduction in mean pulmonary artery pressure from 43 to 32 mm Hg. The third patient had no changes according to the RHC. All three patients showed a positive tendency according to the 6MWT and echocardiography, while none of these changes were recorded in Group II. The mean NT-pro-BNP level in Group I decreased from 1767±291 to 488±129 vs. 1519±305 and 1594±337 in Group II, respectively (P = 0.013). Conclusion Pulmonary artery denervation is a safe and promising treatment method, but further studies are required to prove its effectiveness.

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