Abstract
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common form of endocrine hypertension previously believed to account for less than 1% of hypertensive patients. Hypokalemia was considered a prerequisite for pursuing diagnostic tests for PA. Recent studies applying the plasma aldosterone/plasma renin activity ratio (ARR) as a screening test have reported a higher prevalence. This study is a retrospective evaluation of the diagnosis of PA from clinical centers in five continents before and after the widespread use of the ARR as a screening test. The application of this strategy to a greater number of hypertensives led to a 5- to 15-fold increase in the identification of patients affected by PA. Only a small proportion of patients (between 9 and 37%) were hypokalemic. The annual detection rate of aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) increased in all centers (by 1.3-6.3 times) after the wide application of ARR. Aldosterone-producing adenomas constituted a much higher proportion of patients with PA in the four centers that employed adrenal venous sampling (28-50%) than in the center that did not (9%). In conclusion, the wide use of the ARR as a screening test in hypertensive patients led to a marked increase in the detection rate of PA.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1045-1050 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism |
Volume | 89 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2004 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Biochemistry
- Endocrinology
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Biochemistry, medical