Pulmonic Valvular Stenosis Workup

  • Author: Allysia M Guy, MD; Chief Editor: Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH   more...
 
Updated: Aug 16, 2010
 

Laboratory Studies

Laboratory evaluation usually is not helpful.

  • Oximetry provides information on possible right-to-left shunting in borderline cyanotic lesions or in patients with anemia but does not identify the cause of the shunt (pulmonary, interatrial, interventricular, great arterial).[11]
  • Although arterial blood gases (ABG) analysis usually is not needed, one notable exception is the hyperoxia test in newborns with cyanosis of undetermined origin.
  • Administered 100% FIO2 generally does not increase the partial pressure of oxygen to levels much greater than 100 mm Hg in patients with a cyanotic congenital heart defect.
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Imaging Studies

  • Chest radiography
    • Chest radiography may demonstrate a prominent main pulmonary artery segment but a normal heart size.
    • Pulmonary vascular markings are usually normal but may be decreased in severe pulmonic valvular stenosis.
    • In severe valvular pulmonary stenosis, CHF presents as cardiomegaly with right ventricular and right atrial enlargement.
  • ECG
    • ECG reflects the degree of right ventricular involvement.
    • Right axis deviation and right ventricular hypertrophy are seen in moderate valvular pulmonary stenosis.
    • Degree of right ventricular hypertrophy correlates with the severity of pulmonic valvular stenosis.
    • Tall R wave in V1 more than 10 mm suggests severe stenosis.
    • Incidences of arrhythmias are increased in patients with pulmonic valvular stenosis.[4, 19]
  • Echocardiography[12, 20, 21]
    • The transthoracic approach provides valuable information about the site of obstruction and other possible congenital abnormalities.
    • Valve surface area is not used to determine the severity of stenosis. Rather, the peak gradient across the pulmonic valve is used as an indicator of disease severity.[9] Doppler studies can accurately determine velocity of flow across the valve. The gradient is calculated from 4 times the peak systolic velocity squared: Pressure gradient = 4 X velocity squared
    • Multiple views and measurements increase the accuracy of the predicted peak systolic pressure gradient.
    • A thickened pulmonic valve with restricted systolic motion, called doming, in the parasternal short axis view is apparent.
    • Frequently, the main pulmonary artery is dilated distal to the stenotic orifice.
    • Most children with pulmonary stenosis do not require further evaluation beyond echocardiography.
  • Cardiac catheterization is indicated when pulmonary stenosis is not adequately evaluated by echocardiography. When the peak systolic gradient is more than 36 mm Hg, then balloon valvuloplasty may be indicated.[11] Cardiac catheterization with balloon valvuloplasty is indicated if the gradient is more than 50 mm Hg.[4]
  • Modalities such as MRI and CT can show structural cardiac abnormalities.[22, 23]
    • One case report described the identification of a patient with isolated subvalvular pulmonary stenosis using whole-heart MRI.[24] This imaging tool is noninvasive and has the added benefit of creating a 3-dimensional representation of the heart and surrounding structures. Other reports have described the use of whole-heart MRI as a presurgical adjunct.[22]
    • Cardiac CT has been beneficial for noninvasive presurgical evaluation of someone with known coronary artery disease. The radiation exposure is minimal with cardiac CT, and the reconstructions of a 64-slice CT can yield very accurate images of myocardium changes associated with outflow tract obstruction.[23]
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Procedures

  • Cardiac catheterization
    • The technique for angioplasty was described in 1982.[25]
    • This procedure is not indicated for mild pulmonic valvular stenosis but is essential in severe stenosis.
    • Catheterization assesses the morphology of the right ventricle, pulmonary outflow tract, degree of tricuspid regurgitant flow, and pulmonary arteries.
  • Patients with echocardiographic evidence of significant pulmonic valvular stenosis (>50 mm Hg) should undergo diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterization. Percutaneous balloon dilatation, stenting, and pulmonic valve replacement[26] are increasingly being performed with high success rates.[27]
  • Patients with infundibular or supravalvular pulmonic stenosis, if severe, require operative and invasive surgical interventions.
  • A surgical approach is often preferred in patients with Noonan syndrome because of the degree of immobility that is often present.[28]
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Allysia M Guy, MD  Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Mert Erogul, MD  Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital of Brooklyn: Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital Center

Mert Erogul, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Kurt Pflieger, MD, FAAP  Active Staff, Department of Pediatrics, Lake Pointe Medical Center

Kurt Pflieger, MD, FAAP is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Heart Association, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Peter MC DeBlieux, MD  Professor of Clinical Medicine and Pediatrics, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans

Peter MC DeBlieux, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Radiological Society of North America, and Society of Critical Care Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

David Eitel, MD, MBA  Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, York Hospital; Physician Advisor for Case Management, Wellspan Health System, York

David Eitel, MD, MBA is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Society of Critical Care Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John D Halamka, MD, MS  Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH  Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Virginia Health System

Robert E O'Connor, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physician Executives, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of Delaware, National Association of EMS Physicians, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Wilderness Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author, David J Wallace, MD, MPH, to the development and writing of this article.

References

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