TABLE 2

Outcomes of various palliative interventions in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

First author [reference]	Palliative procedure	Study design/sample size	Patient characteristics	Outcomes
Sandoval [42]	Atrial septostomy	Retrospective n=34	85% had IPAH 9% had CTEPH 53% had WHO FC IV 41% had WHO FC III 11 patients received PAH-specific therapy after procedure	1 patient died after the procedure due to refractory hypoxaemia Improved survival in those who received PAH-specific therapy after the procedure 6MWD increased WHO FC improved mPAP and RVEDP decreased Cardiac index and LVEDP increased
Chiu [46]	Atrial septostomy	Retrospective n=32 patients No control group	All patients had PAH 63% had IPAH 78% had WHO FC III/IV All patients were receiving PAH-specific therapy	No significant change in mPAP No significant change in RAP No significant change in BNP
Chen [44]	PADN	Prospective n=21 13 underwent PADN 8 patients refused PADN and served as control group	All patients had IPAH 13 underwent PADN 8 IPAH patients did not undergo PAH All were on beraprost Mean WHO FC 3.6	Survival was not assessed Decrease in mPAP and PVR post-PADN Increase in cardiac output post-PADN Improvement in 6MWD and WHO FC

IPAH: idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension; CTEPH: chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension; WHO: World Health Organization; FC: functional class; 6MWD: 6-min walking distance; mPAP: mean pulmonary artery pressure; RVEDP: right ventricular end-diastolic pressure; LVEDP: left ventricular end-diastolic pressure; RAP: right atrial pressure; BNP: brain natriuretic peptide; PADN: pulmonary artery denervation; PVR: pulmonary vascular resistance.