[Pulmonary vascular pressures and blood gases in young patients with thoracic scoliosis (author's transl)].

Pulmonary artery and pulmonary wedge pressures were measured at rest and during exercise in 25 young patients with moderate to severe scoliosis. Simultaneous determinations of arterial blood gases and pH were performed. The results of the vascular pressure measurements were compared with those obtained in 15 healthy young subjects. In all patients the pulmonary artery and pulmonary wedge pressure were normal at rest. During mild ergometer exercise, however, an abnormal rise in pulmonary artery pressure occurred in 9 patients. Moreover, an increased diastolic pressure gradient across the pulmonary vascular bed was found in some scoliotic patients indicating an elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. It is supposed that this haemodynamic abnormality is primarily due to a restriction of the pulmonary vascular bed. Relationships between pulmonary artery pressure and arterial oxygen tension and blood pH, respectively, could be found. The possible significance of these results is discussed.