Treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-associated pulmonary hypertension (COPD-PH) is an increasingly recognised condition which contributes to worsening dyspnea and poor survival in COPD. It is uncertain whether specific treatment of COPD-PH, including use of medications approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), improves clinical outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses potential benefits and risks of therapeutic options COPD-PH.We searched Medline and Embase for relevant publications until Sep 2020. Articles were screened for studies on treatment of COPD-PH for at least 4 weeks in 10 or more patients. Screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed independently in duplicate. When possible, relevant results were pooled using the random effects model.Supplemental long-term O2 therapy (LTOT) mildly reduced mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), slowed progression of PH, and reduced mortality, but other clinical or functional benefits were not assessed. Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors significantly improved systolic PAP (pooled treatment effect −5.9 mmHg; 95%CI −10.3, −1.6), but had inconsistent clinical benefits. Calcium-channel blockers and endothelin receptor antagonists had limited hemodynamic, clinical, or survival benefits. Statins had limited clinical benefits despite significantly lowering systolic PAP (pooled treatment effect −4.6 mmHg; 95% CI: −6.3, −2.9).This review supports guideline recommendations for LTOT in hypoxemic COPD-PH patients as well as recommendations against treatment with PAH-targeted medications, Effective treatment of COPD-PH depends upon research into the pathobiology, and future high-quality studies comprehensively assessing clinically relevant outcomes are needed.