Open AccessPrimary aldosteronism in patients with adrenal incidentaloma: Is screening appropriate for everyone?
Author(s) -
Stavropoulos Konstantinos,
Imprialos Konstantinos P.,
Katsiki Niki,
Petidis Konstantinos,
Kamparoudis Apostolos,
Petras Panagiotis,
Georgopoulou Vasiliki,
Finitsis Stefanos,
Papadopoulos Christodoulos,
Athyros Vasilios G.,
Doumas Michael,
Karagiannis Asterios
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of clinical hypertension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1751-7176
pISSN - 1524-6175
DOI - 10.1111/jch.13291
Subject(s) - medicine , primary aldosteronism , hypokalemia , incidentaloma , secondary hypertension , blood pressure , endocrine system , hyperaldosteronism , population , pediatrics , urology , aldosterone , environmental health , hormone
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common form of secondary hypertension. Several guidelines recommend that patients with adrenal incidentaloma have a high probability of suffering from PA. We conducted a prospective study of 269 consecutive adults with adrenal incidentaloma to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of PA. In total, 9 participants were detected with PA, suggesting a prevalence of 3.35% among the study population. PA participants had a higher blood pressure level by 14/20.8 mm Hg and a lower serum potassium level by 0.8 mmol/L ( P < .05). Importantly, all patients with PA presented with concurrent indications (hypertension with or without hypokalemia) for screening of the disease, but they have not undergone relative screening by the referring physician, thus casting doubts about the appropriate implementation of current guidelines in real‐life practice. Intense efforts are needed to familiarize physicians with recommendations for PA to minimize undiagnosed cases and the detrimental sequelae of this endocrine form of hypertension.