Long-term blood pressure control in patients undergoing adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism

Data on long-term blood pressure (BP) control after adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism are limited. We analyzed long-term outcomes to identify factors predictive of cure.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism (1997-2013). BP and antihypertensive medications were assessed at long-term follow-up (≥ 12 months). Primary outcome was cure, defined as normotension off antihypertensives.

Of 85 patients, 15.3% (n = 13) were cured, 54.1% (n = 46) were normotensive while remaining on anti-hypertensives, and 30.6% (n = 26) were hypertensive. Younger age (P = .011), female sex (P < .001), lesser body mass index (P = .018), shorter duration of hypertension (P = .002), lower creatinine (P = .001), and fewer preoperative antihypertensive medications (P < .001) were associated with cure. Female sex, body mass index ≤ 25 kg/m(2), hypertension <5 years, creatinine ≤ 0.8 mg/dL, and <2 antihypertensives were incorporated into a scoring system. For a score of 0-1 (n = 61) the cure rate was 3%; 100% of patients with a score of 4-5 (n = 3) were cured. This scoring system performed comparably to the Aldosterone Resolution Score, which has been used to evaluate short-term postoperative outcomes.

This is the largest study to identify factors associated with long-term BP control after adrenalectomy and incorporate these into a scoring system. These data provide a potential tool to guide preoperative patient counseling.