To develop simplified nomograms for predicting the likelihood of severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and for predicting survival in COPD-associated pulmonary hypertension (COPD-PH) patients, thereby enhancing clinical decision-making.
Key Findings:
Peak SpO2, peak VO2/kg, peak HR, and PASP were identified as significant factors for severe PH, with confidence intervals provided.
The C-index for the nomogram predicting severe PH was 0.906 for the training cohort and 0.93 for the validation cohort, with confidence intervals included.
Predictors for the survival nomogram included age, DLCO% predicted, and VE/VCO2 slope, with C-index values of 0.80 and 0.69 for training and validation cohorts, respectively, including confidence intervals.
Interpretation:
The nomogram models based on non-invasive clinical variables provide individualized tools for predicting severe PH and survival in COPD-PH patients, which may improve patient management.
Limitations:
The study was conducted at a single center, which may limit generalizability and applicability to broader populations.
The retrospective design may introduce biases in data collection and analysis, potentially affecting the reliability of the findings.
Conclusion:
Nomogram models based on non-invasive metrics can aid in predicting severe PH and survival in COPD patients.
