[A quantitative study of the structural anomalies in the pulmonary vessels by pulmonary biopsy in children with an interventricular communication].

INTRODUCTION

Pulmonary vascular disease occurs in patients with cardiac anomalies and left to right shunt as the cases of interventricular heart defects. The hemodynamic study of the structural changes and their relationship with the pathological lesions are useful to know the state of the pulmonary vessels and to establish the postsurgical patients outcome.

METHODS

We analyzed the morphologic and morphometric data in 17 lung biopsies from children under three years with ventricular septal defect, focused the histologic study in grading the structural changes of the intima, media and adventitial vascular walls and the morphometric evaluation on the thickening of the media and the number of the intracinar arteries.

RESULTS

There are significant statistical correlation among the pulmonary pressure and the age, the vascular resistances and the age, the cocient between the pulmonary arterial pressure and the systemic pressure and the external vascular diameter, the cocient of the pulmonary and systemic fluxes and the thickening of the media and finally between the pulmonary vascular resistances and the external arterial diameter.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the intracardiac repair is desirable within 6 months of life and lung biopsy should be undertaken because is the only way to determine the medial thickening and his muscular of fibrous proliferation that will clarify the post-surgical patients outcome.