Blood pressure control in patients with chronic kidney disease according to office and home blood pressures.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess blood pressure (BP) control in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) according to office and home BP and to assess the prevalence of normal BP, white-coat uncontrolled hypertension (WUCH), masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH) and elevated BP. METHODS: Patients with renal failure with or without proteinuria were included in this multicenter observational study. Office BP was first measured by the physician using a self-monitoring BP device (three automatic readings), then by the patient at home (morning and evening) over 3 consecutive days. WUCH was defined as a systolic BP (SBP)/diastolic BP (DBP) ≥140/90 mmHg in the clinic and SBP/DBP<135/85 mmHg at home. MUCH was defined as SBP/DBP <140/90 mmHg in the clinic and SBP/DBP ≥135/85 mmHg at home. RESULTS: Among the 243 included subjects, data of 225 patients were analyzed. Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 37.7 ± 15.7 mL/min/1.73 m and mean office SBP/DBP was 154 ± 19/83 ± 13 mmHg. Mean office SBP/DBP was significantly higher than home SBP/DBP (+9.0 ± 15.1/+7.0 ± 10.0 mmHg, P < 0.01). Normal BP (office and home BP), WUCH, MUCH and elevated BP (office and home BP) rates were 12.0, 14.2, 6.7 and 67.1%, respectively. The patients were taking, on average, 2.8 ± 1.5 antihypertensive drugs/day. CONCLUSION: BP control in patients with CKD was poor. Routine use of 'out-of-office' BP measurement, in addition to office BP by which we can identify patients with WUCH or MUCH, should be recommended based on the current findings.

Aldosterone-to-renin ratio for diagnosing aldosterone-producing adenoma: a multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Biological diagnostic criteria for diagnosing aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) are not well-established. AIM: The aim of the study was to establish the best biological predictors of APA. METHODS: A prospective register was implemented in 17 secondary or tertiary hypertension centres. The inclusion criterion was one of the following: onset of hypertension before 40 years of age; history of hypokalaemia; drug-resistant hypertension (resistant to three drugs); or spironolactone efficiency on BP. RESULTS: Among the 338 collected cases, 192 patients had two aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) determinations (after 1 hour supine and at least 1 hour upright) on the same occasion. Twenty-five patients (8.2%) had biological hyperaldosteronism and an adrenal adenoma identified by computed tomography. APA was histologically confirmed in all 12 patients who underwent surgery. Histologically proven APAs were used as the 'gold standard' in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. ARRs were computed with a minimum renin value set at 5 ng/L to avoid misclassification of so-called 'low-renin hypertension'. To predict an APA, the ARR area under the ROC curve was 0.93. A supine ARR cut-off value of 32ng/ng provided the highest sum of sensitivity (92%) plus specificity (92%). On the basis of an ARR≥32 ng/ng in the supine and/or upright position, sensitivity reached 100%. CONCLUSION: The proposed cut-off value of 32 ng/ng for ARR (minimum renin value set at 5 ng/L) in one of two determinations had 100% sensitivity and 72% specificity with 20% positive and 100% negative predictive values for diagnosing APA.

Septic pseudo-aneurysm of the left main trunk in a dialysis patient.

This case report relating the association between a septic pseudo-aneurysm of the left trunk and myocardial infarction underscores the importance of early non-invasive imaging when acute myocardial infarction is associated with frank clinical or biological signs of systemic sepsis.