The Precise Surgical Treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: Pulmonary Endarterectomy Guided by Three-dimensional Pulmonary Angiography
Phase: NA
Conditions: Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension, Pulmonary Embolism
Sponsor: Sheng Liu

Study Protocol
Official title:
The Precise Surgical Treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension:
Pulmonary Endarterectomy Guided by Three-dimensional Pulmonary Angiography
Brief title
Pulmonary Endarterectomy Guided by CT Scanning for Patients With Chronic
Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension----PEACT
Acronym:PEACT
Sponsor:Fuwai Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,Peking Union Medical College
Study types: interventional,Randomized single-blind controlled study
Document Date：12/19/2018

Abbreviation and acronyms
CTEPH=chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension;PEA=pulmonary
endarterectomy;PAP=pulmonary artery pressure;PVR=pulmonary vascular
resistance;PTG=precise therapy group;UCG=ultrasonic cardiogram;CPET=cardiac pulmonary
exercise test;CT=computed tomography;RHC=right sided heart catheterization;WHO=World
Health Organization;NT-pro BNP=N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide.INR=international
normalized ratio;6MWD=6 minutes walking distance; mmHg=millimeter mercury
column;CF=coagulation factor;UCSD=University of California,San Diego;NOAC=new oral
anticoagulant;3-D=Three-dimensional;

Brief Introduction of this study
This study is a randomized single-blinded controlled study to investigate the efficiency of 3-D
pulmonary imagings,including 3-D pulmonary angiography and 3-D enhanced computed
tomography,patients received PEA surgeries in our center was randomized into 2 groups,the PTG
group(group 1) and traditional PEA therapy group(group 2),the peri-operative hemodynamic
improvement and peri-operative prognosis such as peri-operative mortality and other severe
complications were documented for both groups,and the follow-up result of UCG,CPET and RHC
are compared for these 2 groups so as to investigate their long-term result after PEA surgeries.A
total of more than 72 cases of patients with CTEPH are expected to included into this study,with
informed consent form signatured,a longest 48 months follow-up result will be recorded,and the
whole designed study is expected to end at the year 2022.

Catalog
1 Background........................................................................................................................................5
2 Objectives(Focus of the study)..........................................................................................................6
3 Design and Method............................................................................................................................7
4 Eligibility/intervention information/Arm information.................................................................... 10
5 Outcome measures and time frame................................................................................................. 12
6 Statistical Analysis Plan.................................................................................................................. 13
7 Quality Control................................................................................................................................14
8 Reference.........................................................................................................................................15
9 Appendix......................................................................................................................................... 16
Sample of original medical record(1 patient).....................................................................................16

1 Background
CTEPH is an acquired pulmonary hypertension disease with poor prognosis,5-year mortality
rate of the patients without any intervention can be as high as 90%[1].It is generally believed that
pulmonary thrombosis in these patients can be attributed to residual unresolved thrombus in acute
pulmonary embolism patients or to the deep vein thrombus in lower extremities[2, 3].12000 to
15000 new cases of CTEPH was found every year in the United States[4],for these patients,PEA
surgeries was reported as a golden standard therapy with a significantly better survival prognosis
and life quality achieved compared with pure medicine therapy or pulmonary balloon angioplasty
by many centers[5-7].However,even in the United States,only 300 cases can received PEA therapies
each year,the reasons for this low population received PEA surgeries are as below: 1). PEA is a
extremely skill-demanding operation for the cardiac surgeons,it is reported that 1/2 to 1/3 of
CTEPH patients are considered inoperable by surgeons in Europe[7].Half of the reasons considered
inoperable was the embolism location considered difficult to be found and removed during the
operation[7]; Therefore, accurate positioning and complete removal of the embolism for patients
with CTEPH are the key to successful operation.The latest 3-D imaging technology can accurately
assess the obstructive severity of each pulmonary segments,Rotating 3-D pulmonary angiography
can analyze the location and direction of each pulmonary artery,which can help the surgeons to
determine the surgical difficulty of each pulmonary segment for each patient.In summary,PEA
surgeries guided with high-definition 3-D imaging techniques might lead to a better hemodynamic
result better survival result in the long-term period after surgeries,and might provide a solution to
position the embolism before surgeries,so as to more conveniently remove the pulmonary embolism
during the surgeries.

2 Objectives(Focus of the study)
1)
To investigate the importance of the appliance of the 3-D imaging technique for PEA
surgeries,especially for patients with peripheral UCSD levels;
2)
To establish a standard assessing method with high-definition enhanced CT scanning and
pulmonary angiography;establish a quantitative scoring method using CT scanning and pulmonary
angiography to assess the severity of CTEPH and surgical indications;
3)
To compare the result between group 1 and group 2,so as to find out the possible benefits
in the precise therapy group(group 1);
4)
To promote the appliance of 3-D imaging techniques for patients with CTEPH,and
establish a standard precise PEA strategy guided by enhanced CT scanning and pulmonary
angiogray,in order to further improve the surgical result for patients with CTEPH,especially for
patients with peripheral changes.

3 Design and Method
1）General design
This is a randomized single-blinded controlled study,72 cases of patients are expected to be enrolled into this study,and
randomized into 2 groups.The endpoint of these 2 groups will be compared to determine the efficiency of the appliance of 3-D
imaging techniques for PEA procedures.
2)
Clinical data collection process:
Pre-operative period:From admission to the moment before surgeries.Basic clinical information including the patients’
age,gender,symptoms,clinical diagnosis,WHO classes,disease history et al.Blood test such as the thrombus forming tendency
test,blood coagulation function test,coagulation factor activity test and N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) et al were
collected.Other examinations included CT scanning,MRI,CPET,RHC and pulmonary angio-graphy,pulmonary nuclide perfusion
imaging,respiratory function test and UCG et al.The major parameters of these examinations are collected.
Operation period:The RHC result immediately before and after PEA surgeries are documented,the anesthesia record and CPB
record,surgical specimen pathological record,intra-operative cerebral oxygen saturation data will be collected;
Post-operative period before discharge:Pulmonary nuclide perfusion imaging,CT scanning and UCG should be done in this period.
Follow-up period:A routine 3-,6-,12-,24 months follow-up will be done,the follow-up contents include the measuring of NT-pro
BNP, UCG, CPET, CT scanning, RHC, pulmonary angiography,pulmonary perfusion imaging,MRI and RHC.Among which the
CPET,MRI,RHC and pulmonary angiography should be done after 6 months after surgeries.All the redo examinations could be done
in any follow-up period,but a least of 1 time of these examinations should be done in the whole follow-up period,and the follow-up
time should be recorded.
3）CT Imaging assessment：
①According to the imaging examinations before surgeries,the location of each occluded pulmonary segment and their shape were
identified and the affected pulmonary segments were divided into 3 types:i)segments that is easy to reach;ii)segments that is hard to
reach(seen in the picture below)，and severely occluded;iii)segments that is hard to reach but slightly occluded;

An example of segments hard to reach.As shown in the picture,the shape of LA5 of this patient is exactly perpendicular to the surgical
direction,which lead to a fact that the embolism in this segment very hard to strip.For the subsegment LA8a+b,it is too far away from the proximal
artery,which is very hard to reach at surgeries.
②All the occlusion severity of each segment and narrow severity of each segment is assessed with CT scanning;
An example of constructed CT imaging of the pulmonary segment:A demonstration of the anatomic structure of pulmonary segments.White
arrow:not severely narrow segment of RA9;Red arrow:severely narrow segment of LA4.

4）Research process:seen in the picture below.

4 Eligibility/intervention information/Arm information
Eligibility:
Patients were eligible if they had met all the following conditions:
1) Diagnosed with CTEPH by pulmonary angiography and RHC examinations;
2) The location of the embolism can be reached in surgery;
3) Whether or not combined with auto-immune diseases;
Patients were not eligible if they had met any one of the following conditions:
1) history of other severe diseases and surgical therapy is contraindicated;
2) Unwillingness to participate or without informed consent;
3) acute pulmonary embolism;
4) pulmonary sarcoma;
5) Patients with mitral valve diseases,or other conditions that may lead to cardiogenic pulmonary
hypertension;
6) Pulmonary hypertension caused by pulmonary arteritis.
Intervention information:
Precised analyzed CT scanning and pulmonary angiography will be done for the patients in the
precise therapy group,and the patients in Group 1 will receive PEA procedure with the guide of
precise 3-D imaging techniques(seen in the picture below)

An example of precise therapy process.A,3-D CT constructed images,which can provide the detailed information of each pulmonary
segmental shape and their distribution;B,enhanced CT imaging of pulmonary segment,to assess the occluded severity of each pulmonary
segment;C:Diagrammatic sketch of pulmonary artery embolism’s location,red marked font refer to pulmonary segments with occupying
changes;as shown in the picture,the RA4,RA2,RA5 is completely occluded,other affected segment is partially occluded.D.Surgical
specimen;the occupying lesions in each pulmonary segment is stripped according to the embolism location identified by high-resolution CT
scanning(seen in picture C);E,clearly opened pulmonary segment entrance after precise stripping therapy.
Arm information:All the patients included into this study met the requirements above and
randomized into 2 groups:
group 1:precise PEA therapy with the guide of 3-D imaging techniques;
group 2:traditional PEA therapy solely by surgical probe and traditional CT scanning/pulmonary
angiography method.
100 cases of randomized group were generated,which consisted of 50 cases of group 1 and 50 cases
of group 2,and 100 cases of randomized number was generated paralleled with the randomized
group.According to the date of admission of each patients,they are included into the randomized
group one by one,any patient met the criteria of the not eligible described above will be excluded
from this experiment,and all the patients consent to participate in this study will not know their
specific group,the chief surgeon can only know the random grouping situation after the patients
been admitted into hospital.

5 Outcome measures and time frame
The primary endpoint for assessment of the efficacy was the peri-operative hemodynamic
improvement,peri-operative mortality,major complications after surgery,and deaths in the follow-up
period.
Secondary endpoint were the measuring values of NT-pro BNP,parameters of MRI,UCG and
CPET in the follow-up period,the CT scoring changes from baseline to follow-up period,and WHO
function classes in the follow-up period,as well as disease directly associated cost(average cost) in
the follow-up period.

6 Statistical Analysis Plan
This is a prospective randomized single-blinded controlled study,the major endpoint is the
hemodynamic improvement after the surgeries.
1) Sample Size:
Sample size estimation was based on a hypothesis that the mean PAP of patients of PTG can be
decreased by 8 mmHg more than that of the traditional group.Given the standard deviation of 12
mmHg was expected in the measurement of mean PAP,with a power of 80% and a significance
statistically level of 5% on both side,a sample size of 36 of the PTG group was required.
2) Statistical Analysis:
The analysis was based on the principle of “Intention to Treat” (ITT). All randomized patients
(regardless of whether they violate the protocol) will be included in the final analysis.
Continuous variables are presented as mean±standard deviation,unless otherwise
specified.Significant differences were determined with the Mann-Whitney test or independent t-test
according to the their distribution,Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test or paired t-test for the
paired variables.Categorical variables were compared between the 2 groups using the chi-square
test or Fisher exact test.Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival，log-rank test was
used to evaluate the survival difference between different groups.
The pulmonary occluded severity will be scored using CT scanning and pulmonary
angiography for each patients,the scoring result will be compared with the hemodynamic result to
investigate their possible correlations using Spearman Correlation Analysis.
All the statistical analysis were performed using SPSS version 22.0.P value less than 0.05 was
considered statistically significant.

7 Quality Control
1) Data accuracy:
All the participants in this study are responsible for the data collection process,all the original
medical document should be pictured or scanned as the evidence of recorded data;for parameters
with possible subjective error,the original imaging or assessment profile should be saved,the
parameters estimated by
2) Group coordination
Fuwai hospital was the largest cardiac surgery center in China and also one of the largest
center in the world.Up to now,we had established a coordination team of CTEPH in our
center,which consist of cardiac surgery department,pulmonary disease center,radiology
department,intensive-care unit and ultra-sonic department,nuclear medicine department in our
center.
All the imaging data had been evaluated by at least 2 professional staffs in that field,and the
CT constructed imaging,pulmonary angiography imaging had been saved for re-assessment in case
of possible subjective bias.
3) Patient coordination
We had established a routine and standard follow-up process in our center,these complex re-
examination item could be done within 5 days in our center,with a mature coordination team of
CTEPH being established.

8 Reference
References:
[1].
Stuart W. Jamieson, MB, FRCS, David P. Kapelanski, MD, Naohide Sakakibara, MD, Gerard R. Manecke,
MD, Patricia A et al.Pulmonary Endarterectomy: Experience and Lessons Learned in 1,500 Cases.Ann Thorac Surg
2003;76:1457–64.
[2].
Pengo V, Lensing AW, Prins MH et al.Incidence of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension after
pulmonary embolism.N Engl J Med 2004;350(22):2257-64.
[3].
Nicolas Coquoz, Daniel Weilenmann, Daiana Stolz,et al.Multicentre observational screening survey for the
detection of CTEPH following PE.European Respiratory Journal 2018; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02505-2017.
[4].
Kirson NY, Birnbaum HG, Ivanova JI, Waldman T, Joish V, Williamson T.Prevalence of pulmonary arterial
hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in the United States.Curr Med Res Opin
2011;27(9):1763-8.
[5].
Marion Delcroix, MD,Irene Lang, MD, Joanna Pepke-Zaba, MD et al.Long-Term Outcome of Patients With
Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Results From an International Prospective Registry.Circulation.
2016;133:859-871.
[6].
Takumi Inami, Masaharu Kataoka，Motomi Ando et al.A New Era of Therapeutic Strategies for Chronic
Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension by Two
Different Interventional Therapies; Pulmonary
Endarterectomy and Percutaneous Transluminal
Pulmonary Angioplasty.Plos one,2014,9(4):e94587.
[7].
Joanna PZ, Marion D,Irene L,et al.Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) Results From
an International Prospective Registry.Circulation 2011;124:1973-1981.

9 Appendix
Sample of original medical record(1 patient)
A patient original medical record profile is documented,the shot imaging and scanning documents of
different medical profiles of each patient is saved for further analysis.
The original medical record is shotted so as to know the patient basic clinical profile,such as their
genders,ages,disease history,medical complications before surgeries,and the post-operative prognosis,et al.

Main examinations images before surgeries,the result report paper of all the main examinations before
surgeries,such as ultrasonic cardiogram,computed tomography,magnetic resonance imaging,right-sided heart
catherization,cardiac-pulmonary exercise test,pulmonary perfusion nuclide imaging,and other main blood test are
pictured and saved for each patient.
An example of the right-sided heart catherization result before surgery,the original RHC report paper is
pictured and saved for each patient.

An example of the surgical situation record.The pathological specimen pictures,the anesthesia record,the
CPB record and monitor parameters immediately before and after surgeries is pictured and saved.
An example of the surgical specimen.

The photos taken in the ICU,the main medical therapy method is seen in pic.427598833,and the parameters
of right-sided heart cathrization was photographed,mainly including the pulmonary artery pressure,pulmonary
vascular resistance,cardiac output et al.
A picture taken in the ICU,the parameters of right-sided heart cathetization is shown in this picture.The
parameters shown in this monitor is a reflection of the post-operative hemodynamic result in the ICU period.

Re-examination after surgeries,including the UCG,CT scanning and pulmonary perfusion nuclide imaging et
al.All the re-examinations result was pictured for each patient.
An example of the UCG result(written in Chinese) after surgeries.