Giant Fold Gastritis Induced by Epoprostenol Infusion in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Epoprostenol infusion is the strongest and most convincing therapeutic strategy for severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This study investigated the gastrointestinal side effects of epoprostenol.

Methods and results: The study group of 12 patients treated with epoprostenol (epoprostenol group) and 4 patients without epoprostenol (control group) underwent stomach barium examination, which revealed that the prevalence of giant fold gastritis was significantly higher in the patients treated with epoprostenol (75% in epoprostenol group vs. 0% in control group; P=0.019).

Conclusions: Giant fold gastritis may be an important side effect of epoprostenol infusion.