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Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform
Published on: April 12, 2021
Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in implementing hypertension management after kidney transplantation
Ekamol Tantisattamo1,2,3,4, Antoney J Ferrey1, Uttam G Reddy1
1American Heart Association Comprehensive Hypertension Center at the University of California Irvine Medical Center, Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Kidney Transplantation, Department of Medicine, University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Orange, California.
Insights
Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement and hypertension management are crucial for kidney transplant recipients (KTR). Guidelines should consider post-transplant factors, with 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring as the gold standard for diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cardiology
- Transplant Medicine
Background:
- Hypertension is a common complication in kidney transplant recipients (KTR).
- Standardized evidence for BP measurement and hypertension management in KTR is limited.
- Post-transplant factors influence BP and require tailored management strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current evidence and provide guidance on BP measurement and hypertension management in KTR.
- To highlight the importance of accurate BP monitoring techniques.
- To discuss BP targets and therapeutic options in the context of kidney transplantation.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on BP measurement and hypertension in KTR.
- Analysis of factors influencing BP post-transplantation.
- Discussion of diagnostic gold standards and therapeutic approaches.
Main Results:
- 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring is the gold standard for diagnosing hypertension in KTR.
- BP targets may differ from non-transplant patients due to factors like vascular calcification and immunosuppression.
- Specific BP targets are proposed for immediate, early, and late post-transplant periods.
- Calcium channel blockers show favorable graft outcomes.
- Novel treatments are limited by trial ineligibility.
Conclusions:
- BP measurement and monitoring in KTR should adapt standard guidelines considering post-transplant factors and immunosuppression.
- Further research is needed for novel treatment options in KTR hypertension.
Purpose Of Review:
Evidence for blood pressure (BP) measurement and hypertension management in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) remains lacking.
Recent Findings:
Accurate BP measurement technique is a critical component of hypertension management, and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring remains the gold standard for diagnosis of hypertension in KTR. BP target at different periods posttransplant is uncertain, but likely higher than that in nontransplant patients given factors related to long-standing uremic milieu and kidney transplantation such as vascular calcification altering transplant renal hemodynamic and allograft perfusion and immunosuppression. Dividing BP target into immediate, early, and late posttransplant periods can guide differential diagnoses of hypertension and BP control with a target SBP less than 160 mmHg in general and BP 115-135/65-85 mmHg for adult KTR receiving pediatric kidneys during the immediate posttransplant period, 130/80 mmHg during early and late posttransplant periods. Calcium channel blockers were shown to have favorable graft outcomes. Novel antihypertensive medications for resistant and refractory hypertension and device-based therapies are limited due to KTR's ineligibility for participating in clinical trials.
Summary:
In KTR, BP measurement and monitoring practice should follow the standard clinical practice guideline for nontransplant patients by considering posttransplant factors and immunosuppressive state. Novel treatment options required further studies.
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