Screening and management of hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease referred to Hypertension Excellence Centres among 27 countries. A pilot survey based on questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: Real-life management of hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear. METHODS: A survey was conducted in 2023 by the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) to assess management of CKD patients referred to ESH-Hypertension Excellence Centres (ESH-ECs) at first referral visit. The questionnaire contained 64 questions with which ESH-ECs representatives were asked to estimate preexisting CKD management quality. RESULTS: Overall, 88 ESH-ECs from 27 countries participated (fully completed surveys: 66/88 [75.0%]). ESH-ECs reported that 28% (median, interquartile range: 15-50%) had preexisting CKD, with 10% of them (5-30%) previously referred to a nephrologist, while 30% (15-40%) had resistant hypertension. The reported rate of previous recent (<6 months) estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) testing were 80% (50-95%) and 30% (15-50%), respectively. The reported use of renin-angiotensin system blockers was 80% (70-90%). When a nephrologist was part of the ESH-EC teams the reported rates SGLT2 inhibitors (27.5% [20-40%] vs. 15% [10-25], P = 0.003), GLP1-RA (10% [10-20%] vs. 5% [5-10%], P = 0.003) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (20% [10-30%] vs. 15% [10-20%], P = 0.05) use were greater as compared to ESH-ECs without nephrologist participation. The rate of reported resistant hypertension, recent eGFR and UACR results and management of CKD patients prior to referral varied widely across countries. CONCLUSIONS: Our estimation indicates deficits regarding CKD screening, use of nephroprotective drugs and referral to nephrologists before referral to ESH-ECs but results varied widely across countries. This information can be used to build specific programs to improve care in hypertensives with CKD.

Factors associated with kalemia in renal disease.

BACKGROUND: International recommendations promote a strict potassium diet in order to avoid hyperkalemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. However, the efficiency of such a dietary recommendation has never been demonstrated. The objectives of this study were to define the relationship between kalemia, dietary potassium intake estimated by kaliuresis and renal function, and to define the factors associated with kalemia in patients using artificial intelligence. METHODS: To this extent, data from patients followed in a nephrology unit, included in the UniverSel study and whose kalemia (measured on the day of urine collection; n = 367) were analyzed. RESULTS: The patients included had a wide range of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), but few had stage 5 CKD. Kalemia was negatively and linearly correlated to eGFR (P < .001) but was not correlated to kaliuresis (P = .55). Kaliuresis was not correlated to eGFR (P = .08). Factors associated with kalemia were analyzed using a Bayesian network. The five variables most associated with kalemia were, in descending order, eGFR, original nephropathy, age, diabetes and plasma bicarbonate level. CONCLUSION: The results of this study do not support a strict dietary potassium control to regulate kalemia in stage 1-4 CKD patients.

Prediction of all-cause mortality for chronic kidney disease patients using four models of machine learning.

BACKGROUND: The prediction tools developed from general population data to predict all-cause mortality are not adapted to chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, because this population displays a higher mortality risk. This study aimed to create a clinical prediction tool with good predictive performance to predict the 2-year all-cause mortality of stage 4 or stage 5 CKD patients. METHODS: The performance of four different models (deep learning, random forest, Bayesian network, logistic regression) to create four prediction tools was compared using a 10-fold cross validation. The model that offered the best performance for predicting mortality in the Photo-Graphe 3 cohort was selected and then optimized using synthetic data and a selected number of explanatory variables. The performance of the optimized prediction tool to correctly predict the 2-year mortality of the patients included in the Photo-Graphe 3 database were then assessed. RESULTS: Prediction tools developed using the Bayesian network and logistic regression tended to have the best performances. Although not significantly different from logistic regression, the prediction tool developed using the Bayesian network was chosen because of its advantages and then optimized. The optimized prediction tool that was developed using synthetic data and the seven variables with the best predictive value (age, erythropoietin-stimulating agent, cardiovascular history, smoking status, 25-hydroxy vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and ferritin levels) had satisfactory internal performance. CONCLUSIONS: A Bayesian network was used to create a seven-variable prediction tool to predict the 2-year all-cause mortality in patients with stage 4-5 CKD. Prior to external validation, the proposed prediction tool can be used at: https://dev.hed.cc/?a=jpfauvel&n=2022-05%20Modele%20Bayesien%2020000%20Mortalite%207%20variables%20Naif%20Zou%20online(1).neta for research purposes.

Prediction Tool to Estimate Potassium Diet in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Developed Using a Machine Learning Tool: The UniverSel Study.

There is a need for a reliable and validated method to estimate dietary potassium intake in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients to improve prevention of cardiovascular complications. This study aimed to develop a clinical tool to estimate potassium intake using 24-h urinary potassium excretion as a surrogate of dietary potassium intake in this high-risk population. Data of 375 adult CKD-patients routinely collecting their 24-h urine were included to develop a prediction tool to estimate potassium diet. The prediction tool was built from a random sample of 80% of patients and validated on the remaining 20%. The accuracy of the prediction tool to classify potassium diet in the three classes of potassium excretion was 74%. Surprisingly, the variables related to potassium consumption were more related to clinical characteristics and renal pathology than to the potassium content of the ingested food. Artificial intelligence allowed to develop an easy-to-use tool for estimating patients' diets in clinical practice. After external validation, this tool could be extended to all CKD-patients for a better clinical and therapeutic management for the prevention of cardiovascular complications.

Hypertension in Children and Adolescents: A Position Statement From a Panel of Multidisciplinary Experts Coordinated by the French Society of Hypertension.

Hypertension is much less common in children than in adults. The group of experts decided to perform a review of the literature to draw up a position statement that could be used in everyday practice. The group rated recommendations using the GRADE approach. All children over the age of 3 years should have their blood pressure measured annually. Due to the lack of data on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with blood pressure values, the definition of hypertension in children is a statistical value based on the normal distribution of blood pressure in the paediatric population, and children and adolescents are considered as having hypertension when their blood pressure is greater than or equal to the 95th percentile. Nevertheless, it is recommended to use normative blood pressure tables developed according to age, height and gender, to define hypertension. Measuring blood pressure in children can be technically challenging and several measurement methods are listed here. Regardless of the age of the child, it is recommended to carefully check for a secondary cause of hypertension as in 2/3 of cases it has a renal or cardiac origin. The care pathway and principles of the therapeutic strategy are described here.

Combined effect of obesity and metabolic profile on glomerular dysfunction in hypertensive subjects.

AIM: The aim of this study is to explore the individual and combined effects of obesity and metabolic profile on the impairment of glomerular function among hypertensive subjects. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study enrolling 499 hypertensive subjects. Based on body mass index values and metabolic profile, they were assigned to one of four metabolic phenotype groups: MHNO: metabolically healthy non-obese, MHO: metabolically healthy but obese, MUHNO: metabolically unhealthy but non-obese, and MUHO: metabolically unhealthy and obese. The effect of the interaction between obesity and metabolic profile was tested on an additive scale, for both microalbuminuria and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding factors, the highest risk of both microalbuminuria and decreased eGFR was found among patients of the MUHO group (OR = 6.0 [2.13], p < 0.0001, OR = 5.4 [1.26], p = 0.03, respectively). Analysis of the additive interaction indicates that 51% and 53% of the risk of microalbuminuria and its combination with low eGFR respectively is explained by the co-occurrence of obesity and metabolic disorder. The mechanism of this interaction is synergistic (synergy index = 2.6, [1.5.3]). CONCLUSION: The decline of glomerular function in hypertensive subjects is significantly exacerbated by the interaction between obesity and metabolic disorders. The management of such high-risk subjects requires, in addition to the therapeutic regimen, an adequate dietary and physical program in order to preserve glomerular function.

Renin-angiotensin system blockers and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which is responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a gateway into host cells. In this review, we summarise the biology of this enzyme, which plays a key role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Blockers of the renin-angiotensin system modify the expression and activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in different ways. The effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on the expression and enzyme activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 are reviewed, and the consequences of these treatments for the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 infection are discussed.

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.

Prediction of all-cause mortality in haemodialysis patients using a Bayesian network.

BACKGROUND: All-cause mortality in haemodialysis (HD) is high, reaching 15.6% in the first year according to the European Renal Association. METHODS: A new clinical tool to predict all-cause mortality in HD patients is proposed. It uses a post hoc analysis of data from the prospective cohort study Photo-Graph V3. A total of 35 variables related to patient characteristics, laboratory values and treatments were used as predictors of all-cause mortality. The first step was to compare the results obtained using a logistic regression to those obtained by a Bayesian network. The second step aimed to increase the performance of the best prediction model using synthetic data. Finally, a compromise between performance and ergonomics was proposed by reducing the number of variables to be entered in the prediction tool. RESULTS: Among the 9010 HD patients included in the Photo-Graph V3 study, 4915 incident patients with known medical status at 2 years were analysed. All-cause mortality at 2 years was 34.1%. The Bayesian network provided the most reliable prediction. The final optimized models that used 14 variables had areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.78 ± 0.01, sensitivity of 72 ± 2%, specificity of 69 ± 2%, predictive positive value of 70 ± 1% and negative predictive value of 71 ± 2% for the prediction of all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Using artificial intelligence methods, a new clinical tool to predict all-cause mortality in incident HD patients is proposed. The latter can be used for research purposes before its external validation at: https://www.hed.cc/? a=twoyearsallcausemortalityhemod&n=2-years%20All-cause%20Mortality%20Hemodialysis.neta.

Hyperuricemia and Hypertension, Coronary Artery Disease, Kidney Disease: From Concept to Practice.

Since the publication of the Framingham Heart Study, which suggested that uric acid should no longer be associated with coronary heart disease after additional adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors, the number of publications challenging this statement has dramatically increased. The aim of this paper was to review and discuss the most recent studies addressing the possible relation between sustained elevated serum uric acid levels and the onset or worsening of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Original studies involving American teenagers clearly showed that serum uric acid levels were directly correlated with systolic and diastolic pressures, which has been confirmed in adult cohorts revealing a 2.21-fold increased risk of hypertension. Several studies involving patients with coronary artery disease support a role for serum uric acid level as a marker and/or predictor for future cardiovascular mortality and long-term adverse events in patients with coronary artery disease. Retrospective analyses have shown an inverse relationship between serum uric acid levels and renal function, and even a mild hyperuricemia has been shown to be associated with chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. Interventional studies, although of small size, showed that uric acid (UA)-lowering therapies induced a reduction of blood pressure in teenagers and a protective effect on renal function. Taken together, these studies support a role for high serum uric acid levels (>6 mg/dL or 60 mg/L) in hypertension-associated morbidities and should bring awareness to physicians with regards to patients with chronic hyperuricemia.

[Sexual dysfunction and antihypertensive treatment: Involvement of the different therapeutic classes and what to do about the treatment of hypertension]. / Dysfonction érectile et traitement antihypertenseur : impact des différentes classes thérapeutiques et conduite à tenir à l'égard du traitement.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is not routinely discussed with patients in cardiology practices whereas it may impact the ability of patients to stay on therapy. Most of the studies about ED and antihypertensive therapies have several methodological limitations. Diuretics and beta-blockers have been shown to have a deleterious effect on ED. ISRA inhibitors, calcium antagonists, vasodilator beta-blockers and alpha-blockers have been shown to have a neutral impact on ED. Angiotensin 2 inhibitors, nebivolol and alpha-blockers use has sometimes beneficial effect on ED. In case of ED due to antihypertensive treatment, drugs can be switched each other but careful attention in patients with a high cardiovascular risk is required.

Variables linked to hepatitis B vaccination success in non-dialyzed chronic kidney disease patients: Use of a bayesian model.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients before starting dialysis. We performed an analyis aimed to describe the clinical and biological parameters related to the success of vaccination in CKD patients before starting dialysis. METHODS: We extracted data of 170 non-dialyzed patients who were offered hepatitis B vaccination from a register. They received a first vaccination of 40µg followed by boosters after one, two and six months. Patients were considered protected if their hepatitis B antibody level was >10IU/L, three months apart. A logistic regression and a Bayesian model were used to describe the relationships between variables and the success of vaccination. RESULTS: Vaccination protected 50.6% of the patients. Model adjustment to the data was higher using the Bayesian model compared to the logistic regression (with area under the ROC curve of 0.955±0.007 vs 0.775±0.066 respectively). The Bayesian model's robustness studied using a 10 fold cross validation showed a percentage of misclassified subjects of 12.4±1.8%, a sensitivity of 87.7±0.3%, a specificity of 87.5±0.3%, a positive predictive value of 87.8±0.3% and negative predictive value of 87.4±0.2%. As classified by the Bayesian model, the variables most related to successful vaccination were, in descending order: age, eGFR, protidemia, albuminemia, cause of renal failure, gender, previous vaccination and weight. CONCLUSION: The Bayesian network confirmed that both kidney function and nutritional status of patients are important factors to explain the success of vaccination against hepatitis B in CKD patients before dialysis. For research purposes, before an external validation, the network can be used online at www.hed.cc/?s=Bhepatitis&n=ReseauhepatiteBsup10.neta.

Combined effect of renal function and serum potassium level in sudden cardiac death in aging hypertensive subjects.

In patients with chronic kidney disease, serum potassium level is a factor influencing sudden cardiac death (SCD). The aim of our analysis was to study the combined effect of serum potassium level and renal function on the onset of SCD in elderly hypertensive subjects. Data from the 3620 hypertensive patients aged over 70 years were extracted from three randomized clinical trials included in the INDANA database. During a mean follow up of 4.5 years, 81 patients (2.24%) died from SCD. Mean serum potassium levels and prevalence of chronic kidney disease were not different in patients who died from SCD. In addition to serum potassium and creatinine levels, 14 clinical and biological variables linked to cardiovascular diseases recorded at baseline were analyzed using a Bayesian network. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the Bayesian model reached 0.91. Bayesian inference was used to simulate the combined effects of serum potassium and creatinine levels on SCD. Our analysis, using simulated data from Bayesian model, showed that the estimated probabilities of SCD was significantly increased in case of hyperkalemia (>5.0 mmol/l) and in case of hypokalemia (<3.5 mmol/l) and in case of chronic kidney disease. Combined effects of serum potassium level and renal function revealed that chronic kidney disease increased the probability of SCD whatever the serum potassium level. Our results using a Bayesian model confirm the deleterious effects of hypokalemia, hyperkalemia and chronic kidney disease on SCD in elderly hypertensive patients.

Hypertension and pregnancy: expert consensus statement from the French Society of Hypertension, an affiliate of the French Society of Cardiology.

High blood pressure in pregnancy remains, by its complications, the leading cause of morbidity as well as maternal and fetal mortality. The frequency (5-10% of pregnancies) and the potential severity of this disease, for both mother and child, encourage to standardize and to optimize our medical practices. If the short-term complications for the mother and child are well known, long-term ones for the mother are beginning to be better identified. The onset of hypertension during pregnancy disrupts the classic organization of health care and requires the intervention of the general practitioner and/or an obstetrician, a gynecologist, a midwife, a cardiologist, a nephrologist. There is not always a care coordinator, and decisions are sometimes taken with delay. This is what drove the French Society of Hypertension, in partnership with the French National College of Gynecologists-Obstetricians, to develop a consensus proposing easy-to-use guidelines. Educating women and all health professionals to hypertension and its management, in line with current scientific data, is one of the major challenges of this consensus.

Blood pressure and proteinuria control remains a challenge in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease: experience from the prospective observational ALICE-PROTECT study.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in western countries. The combination of both increases the risk of end stage renal disease (ESRD), cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Early control of blood pressure (BP) and proteinuria (Pu) is crucial to slow down the progression of the CKD and prevent cardiovascular events and mortality. The primary objective of the study was to assess BP and Pu control after a 2-year follow-up in T2DM patients with CKD. METHODS: Prospective, multicenter, observational study. Overall, 153 French nephrologists included 986 T2DM patients with Pu (≥0.5 g/day) and an eGFR >15 ml/min/1.73 m2. Data from 729 patients were available after a 2-year follow-up. BP and Pu control were respectively defined as less than 140/90 mmHg and 0.5 g/day. We also looked at renal and cardiovascular events. RESULTS: At baseline, 74 % of the patients were male, mean age was 70 years. The mean T2DM duration was 17 years with a mean HbA1c of 7.4 %. All were treated for hypertension and 33 % had a controlled BP; 81 % had dyslipidemia and LDLc was <1 g/L for 54 %; 44 % had retinopathy, 40 % macrovascular complications and 12 % heart failure. Mean Pu was 2 g/day and eGFR 40 ± 20 mL/min/1.73 m2, with 13, 18, 32 and 37 % of the patients in respectively stage 2, 3a, 3b and 4 CKD. After two years, 21 % reached the Pu target and 39 % the BP target. The mean eGFR of 40 ± 20.3 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline dropped to 33.9 ± 22.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 by year two (p < 0.001). This corresponded to a mean annual eGFR reduction of 3.2 ml/min/1.73 m2. 118 patients presented a renal event (16.2 %): doubling of serum creatinine for 86 patients (11.8 %) and start of dialysis for 72 (9.9 %); 176 patients (24.1 %) developed at least one cardiovascular complication (mainly coronary events and acute heart failure) during the follow-up period, and among these, 50 had also developed renal complications. Sixty patients died, i.e., 8.2 %, 26 patients from cardiovascular causes. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights that achieving BP and Pu targets remains a major challenge in patients with T2DM and nephropathy. Renal failure emerges as a more frequent event than death.

[Hypertension during pregnancy: Epidemiology, definition]. / Hypertensions et grossesse : aspects épidémiologiques, définition.

Hypertension in pregnancy has several forms that differ by their mechanisms and their consequences for mothers and fetus. Chronic hypertension is defined by SBP≥140mm Hg or DBP≥90mm Hg before pregnancy or before the 20th week of amenorrhea. Gestational hypertension is defined by SBP≥140mm Hg or DBP≥90mm Hg during or after the 20th week of amenorrhea. Preeclampsia is the occurrence of hypertension and proteinuria after 20weeks of amenorrhea. Severe preeclampsia is accompanied by clinical signs and symptoms indicating visceral pain. The HELLP syndrome is a severe preeclampsia accompanied by intravascular hemolysis and hepatic cytolysis. Eclampsia is characterized by seizures of the tonic-clonic type. A chronic hypertension is observed in 1-5% of pregnancies. Gestational hypertension without proteinuria appears in 5-6% of pregnancies. A preeclampsia develops in 1-2% of pregnancies, but much more frequently (up 34%) in the presence of risk factors. High blood pressure during pregnancy remains, by its complications, the leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality.

[Hypertension and pregnancy. Expert consensus statement from the French Society of Hypertension, an affiliate of the French Society of Cardiology]. / Hypertension artérielle et grossesse. Consensus d'experts de la Société française d'hypertension artérielle, filiale de la Société française de cardiologie.

High blood pressure in pregnancy remains, by its complications, the leading cause of morbidity and maternal and fetal mortality. The frequency (5 to 10% of pregnancies) and the potential severity of this disease, both for mother and child, encourage to standardize and to optimize our medical practices. This is the main objective of this work. If the short-term complications for the mother and child are well known, long-term ones for the mother beginning to be better identified (in particular, the risk of recurrence in a subsequent pregnancy, the risk of chronic hypertension and the increased risk of cardiovascular events). The occurrence of hypertension during pregnancy disturbs the "classic" organization of care. Several health professionals are involved, the general practitioner, obstetrician, gynecologist, midwife, cardiologist, nephrologist… There is not always a care coordinator and decisions are sometimes taken with delay. These data encouraged the French Society of Hypertension to write a consensus offering easy and efficient recommendations. Educate women and all health professionals to hypertension and its management, in line with current scientific data, is one of the major challenges of this consensus.

A Bayesian Model to Describe Factors Influencing Trough Levels of Vancomycin in Hemodialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In hemodialysis patients, there is a marked inter-individual variability in the pharmacokinetics of vancomycin. This retrospective study was carried out to design a model describing the parameters that may influence the trough concentrations of vancomycin (TCV) in hemodialysis patients. METHODS: A Bayesian model was constructed from data obtained during 314 hemodialysis sessions performed in 31 hemodialysis patients receiving vancomycin. The model's validity was assessed by goodness of fit. A bootstrap resampling method was used to calculate bias and accuracy for 80 predicted and observed TCV. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients underwent dialysis 3 times a week for a mean duration of 4 h. Their mean age was 69 ± 12 years. The vancomycin infusion was started 30 min before the scheduled end of the dialysis session at a flow rate of 1,000 mg/h. The mean TCV of the study population was 16.1 ± 3.2 mg/l. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of the constructed model was 95.2%. In the validation sample (80 randomly selected TCV), the observed mean TCV was 15.8 ± 3.6 mg/l, whereas the mean TCV predicted by the model was 15.7 ± 3.0 mg/l. If the mean bias was low between the predicted and observed TCV (-0.1 mg/l), SD was high (3.43 mg/l). The variables most closely linked to TCV were in descending order: weight after dialysis, weight before dialysis, the dose of vancomycin administered during the previous dialysis session and creatinine concentration before dialysis. CONCLUSION: This simple model describes patient-related and dialysis-related parameters that mainly influence TCV. Before its use in clinical practice, this model should be validated prospectively.