A Systematic Review and Physiology of Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility Index in Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy

Background: Right heart failure is a major complication following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi) has been evaluated as a haemodynamic marker for right heart failure, but PAPi is dependent on pulmonary vascular resistance. We conducted a systematic review to assess the relationship between PAPi and right heart failure and death in patients undergoing LVAD implantation; and examined the relationship between PAPi cut-off and pulmonary vascular resistance.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL and manually screened retrieved references to identify all clinical studies reporting PAPi in adult patients with a durable LVAD. Eligibility criteria were prespecified and two reviewers independently screened and extracted data; the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess quality of non-randomized studies. This study was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021259009).

Results: From 283 unique records, we identified 16 studies reporting haemodynamic assessment in 20,634 adult patients with an implanted durable LVAD. Only 2 studies reported on mortality and in both, a lower PAPi was significantly associated with death. Fifteen studies reported right heart failure data and in ten studies a lower PAPi was significantly associated with right heart failure. Six studies reported on PAPi cut-offs ranging from 0.88 to 3.3; and the cut-offs were directly related to pulmonary vascular resistance (r = 0.6613, p = 0.019).

Conclusions: Lower PAPi was associated with right heart failure and death following LVAD implantation, but a single PAPi cut-off cannot be defined, as it is dependent on pulmonary vascular resistance.