Abstract
We investigated the influence of lobectomy on right ventricular function by pulsed Doppler echocardiogram. This study included 26 patients who underwent either lobectomy or bilobectomy at our institute. The parameters which included the right ventricular (RV) inflow pattern at the tricuspid orifice and the RV ejection pattern at the RV outflow tract were investigated by pulsed Doppler echocardiogram. The following results were obtained. (1) The parameter of the acceleration time (AT ; time beginning of RV ejection to peak velocity, msec) that shows the RV afterload shortened at the postoperative day 1 of the pulmonary resection compared with the preoperative value (144±26 vs 117±21, p<0.001). It was thought that RV afterload was increased after the lobectomy. (2) The parameter of the deceleration half time (DHT, the time interval required to decrease the velocity from its peak to one half which obtained from RV early diastolic filling, msec) lengthened not only at the POD 1 but also at the POD 14 (pre : 112±16, POD 1 : 122±21, POD 14 : 122±15, p<0.05 vs pre). The parameter of DC (the deceleration of the early rapid filling of the RV inflow Doppler pattern) decreased after the lobectomy. The results of both DHT and DC revealed that right ventricular diastolic dysfunction has occurred after the lobectomy.
Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias are noted as one of the several cardiac complications developing after pulmonary resection. We must carry out a further examination of the relation between the postoperative tachyarrhythmia and right ventricular dysfunction in the future.
