Interventions in children with renovascular hypertension: A 27-year retrospective single-center experience

Renovascular hypertension (RVH) can be caused by renal artery stenosis (RAS) and/or middle aortic syndrome (MAS).

Patients who received surgical or transcatheter treatment for RVH between 1/1991 and 11/2017 were retrospectively reviewed using age = adjusted blood pressure ratio (BPR).

Fifty-three patients diagnosed with RVH at a median age of 4.5 (0-18) years were included. Vascular involvement ranged from MAS with RAS (20), RAS only (32), and MAS only (1). The first intervention was transcatheter in 47 patients (transcatheter group: angioplasty = 41, stenting = 5, and thrombectomy = 1), and surgical in 6 patients (surgical group), occurring at a median age of 6.2 (0.1-19.6) years. There was a change toward transcatheter interventions as the first procedure over the study period. First reinterventions in the transcatheter group (27 lesions in 18 patients) were repeat transcatheter (in 20 lesions) and surgery (7 lesions) at a median of 92 (2-2555) days; in the surgical group (5 lesions in 4 patients) first reinterventions were transcatheter (4 lesions) and repeat surgery (1) at a median of 2.2 (1.1-12.0) years. A total of 136 transcatheter and 30 surgical discrete interventions were performed. There was a significant decline in antihypertensive medications and BPR at 4-6 months after the first intervention and on last follow-up in patients initially treated by transcatheter means while the decline was not significant in the surgical group (limited by small sample size). Complications were significantly more common in the surgical group (P < .01), 11/27 (41%) vs 10/136 (7.4%). Four patients died (2 from each group): 2 with congenital renal artery atresia and MAS, 2 with MAS and RAS. The median follow-up interval was 3.6 (0.1-35.2) years.

Pediatric patients with RVH treated with transcatheter means as the first intervention had significant improvement in BPR, as well as decline in antihypertensive medications and were less likely to suffer major complications.