Effect of hospitalization versus placebo in hypertensive adolescents

The effect of hospitalization on blood pressure was determined in 31 adolescents admitted to the hospital for evaluation of mild hypertension. All were diagnosed as having primary hypertension. There was a progressive decline of systolic (p less than 0.001) and diastolic pressure (p less than 0.001) during hospitalization. After discharge the blood pressure returned to the preadmission level. In 32 ambulatory adolescents with primary hypertension who were treated with placebo for 4 weeks, there was no decline in blood pressure. These observations suggest that hospitalization in hypertensive juveniles, as well as adults, results in a decrease in blood pressure. These findings also suggest that initiating and adjusting antihypertensive therapy in such patients may be confounded by the independent decrease in blood pressure due to hospitalization.