Bartter's syndrome. A review of 28 patients followed for 10 years

Twenty-eight patients with Bartter's syndrome diagnosed during the years 1964-86 and followed for an average of 9.9 years have been reviewed. Their mean age at the time of diagnosis was 32.9 years. As a group they were shorter than normal subjects. In 19 patients hypokalaemia was detected incidentally. Neuromuscular symptoms, usually minor, had occurred in 19 subjects. Pregnancies and deliveries were unremarkable. One patient has died from malignant lymphoma, the others are alive. Of these, one patient has developed renal failure and received a renal transplant. The other patients have preserved a normal renal function and the majority have been healthy and working full time. Treatment rarely resulted in normokalaemia. The annual incidence of the syndrome has been estimated at 1.2 per million people.