Comparison of right ventricular weight at necropsy in interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and in chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

The ventricular weights in 43 patients with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis were retrospectively compared with those in 172 patients with emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The mean right ventricular weight of patients with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and those with emphysema and chronic bronchitis was 85.5 g (SD 23.2) and 88.8 g (34.3), respectively. Thirty five patients (81%) with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis had a right ventricular weight over 65 g compared with 124 (72%) of those with emphysema. Fifty three per cent of both those with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and those with chronic bronchitis and emphysema had a right ventricular weight greater than 80 g. Differences between the two groups were not significant. These results suggest that the prevalence of right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary hypertension in interstitial pulmonary fibrosis is similar to that found in chronic bronchitis and emphysema.