Assessment of postoperative changes in antihypertensive drug consumption in patients with primary aldosteronism using the defined daily dose

Treatment Intensity, Prescribing Patterns, and Blood Pressure Control in Rural Black Patients with Uncontrolled Hypertension

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Because racial disparities in hypertension treatment persist, the objective of the present study was to examine patient vs. practice characteristics that influence antihypertensive selection and treatment intensity for non-Hispanic Black (hereafter "Black") patients with uncontrolled hypertension in the rural southeastern USA.

METHODS

We enrolled 25 Black patients from each of 69 rural practices in Alabama and North Carolina with uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 140 mm Hg) in a 4-arm cluster randomized trial of BP control interventions. Patients' antihypertensive medications were abstracted from medical records and reconciled at the baseline visit. Treatment intensity was computed using the defined daily dose (DDD) method of the World Health Organization. Correlates of greater antihypertensive medication intensity were assessed by linear regression modeling, and antihypertensive medication classes were compared by baseline systolic BP (SBP) level.

RESULTS

A total of 1431 patients were enrolled and had complete baseline data. Antihypertensive treatment intensity averaged 3.7 ± 2.6 equivalent medications at usual dosages and was significantly related to higher baseline systolic BP, older age, male sex, insurance availability, higher BMI, and concurrent diabetes, but not to practice type or medication barriers in regression models. Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors were the most commonly used medications, followed by diuretics and calcium channel blockers.

CONCLUSION/RELEVANCE

Antihypertensive treatment intensity for Black patients in the rural southeastern USA with a history of uncontrolled hypertension averaged the equivalent of almost four medications at usual dosages and was significantly associated with baseline SBP levels and other patient characteristics, but not clinic type.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02866669.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy for adrenal tumors with endocrine activity: Perioperative management pathways for reduced complications and improved outcomes

The major adrenal tumors with endocrine activity are primary aldosteronism, Cushing's syndrome/mild autonomous cortisol secretion, and pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. Excessive aldosterone secretion in primary aldosteronism causes cardiovascular, renal, and other organ damage in addition to hypertension and hypokalemia. Cortisol hypersecretion in Cushing's syndrome/mild autonomous cortisol secretion causes obesity, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, and cardiometabolic syndrome. Massive secretion of catecholamines in pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma causes hypertension and cerebrocardiovascular disease due to rapid blood pressure fluctuation. Moreover, pheochromocytoma multi-system crisis is a feared and possibly fatal presentation of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. Thus, adrenal tumors with endocrine activity are considered an indication for adrenalectomy, and perioperative management is very important. They have a risk of perioperative complications, either due to direct hemodynamic effects of the hormone hypersecretion or due to hormone-related comorbidities. In the last decades, deliberate preoperative evaluation and advanced perioperative management have significantly reduced complications and improved outcomes. Furthermore, improvements in anesthesia and surgical techniques with the feasibility of laparoscopic adrenalectomy have contributed to reduced morbidity and mortality. However, there are still several challenges to be considered in the perioperative care of these patients. There are very few data available prospectively to guide clinical management, due to the rarity of adrenal tumors with endocrine activity. Therefore, most guidelines are based on retrospective data analyses or small case series. In this review, the latest knowledge is summarized, and practical pathways to reduce perioperative complications and improve outcomes in adrenal tumors with endocrine activity are presented.

Hypertension outcomes of adrenalectomy for unilateral primary aldosteronism

PURPOSE

To evaluate laboratory and clinical results after unilateral adrenalectomy in patients with primary aldosteronism (PHA).

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from patients who underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy for PHA, between January 2008 and December 2019. Surgical indications were based on adrenal venous sampling without ACTH stimulation. Analyses included patient demographics; preoperative clinical, pharmacological, laboratory, and radiological data; and postoperative results assessed after a median of 4 months. Antihypertensive drug use was quantified by estimating the daily defined dose (DDD) of antihypertensive medication, thus enabling standardized comparison of dosage between the drug classes. Statistical assessments included univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

This study enrolled 87 patients. The patients were taking 5.4 DDD of antihypertensive medication before surgery, and 3.0 DDD after surgery. Complete biochemical success of surgery was reached 67 patients (77%), 19 patients (22%) had partial biochemical success. Complete clinical success with normalization of blood pressure and withdrawal of all antihypertensive drugs was achieved in 19 patients (22%). 57 patients (65%) exhibited a reduction of DDD after surgery and/or improvement of blood pressure-partial clinical success. Thus, in 76 (87%) of all enrolled patients, surgery had an overall positive effect on hypertension control. Multivariable logistic regression showed that complete clinical success was independently associated with female gender and baseline sum of antihypertensive drugs DDD < 4.

CONCLUSION

A majority of patients undergoing unilateral adrenalectomy for PHA achieved markedly improved hypertension control, despite almost halving their antihypertensive medication. Almost a quarter of patients were cured and able to cease using all antihypertensive drugs.

Analgesic consumption evolution at the emergency department of a university hospital (2006-2017): a defined daily doses based analysis

OBJECTIVE

Pain management in the emergency department (ED) is a key issue that must be regularly evaluated. Practice evaluation gold standard remains patient file analysis, but is highly time consuming. The aim of this study is to evaluate the interest of a defined daily dose (DDD) based analysis in the evaluation of pain management in the ED.

METHODS

A local indicator was elaborated based on the DDD concept: the defined dose per admission (DDA). Unlike the DDD that corresponds to a standardised total dose administered over a day, the DDA represents the average total dose administrated to a patient throughout the stay in the ED. A DDA was assigned to every analgesic, from step 1 to step 3. Oral and injectable forms were studied, but transdermal forms were not considered. DDA values were assimilated to the existing DDDs when these were officially established by the WHO. When values were not defined by the WHO, mean values observed in local practice were selected. Annual numbers of patients admitted to the ED and quantities of each analgesic supplied by the pharmacy ward were annually extracted from respective data files. Paediatric patients being treated at a specific separate ED, only adults were considered throughout the study. Raw quantities of analgesics used each year were converted to their equivalent amounts in DDA, and then expressed in numbers of DDA per 100 admissions (DDA/100A). This indicator allowed us to describe relative evolutions of analgesics prescriptions from 2006 to 2017.

RESULTS

Analgesic overall use rose from 18.4 to 30.2 DDA/100A between 2006 and 2017, representing a prescription increase of 64%. Throughout the study, step 1 analgesics rose from 10.8 to 19.3 DDA/100A (+79%), step 3 from 1.8 to 5.4 (+200%) and step 2 remained stable around 5.6 DDA/100A. The integration of orodispersible paracetamol tablets in 2013 allowed us to halve the consumption of injectable paracetamol in the long term and had no effect on classic paracetamol oral forms such as tablets or capsules. Tramadol increased from 41% to 78% among step 2 analgesics after the withdrawal of dextropropoxyphene in 2011. Codeine use shows a steady decline from 1.9 DDA/100A in 2011 to 0.72 in 2017.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

The DDA concept appears to be an effective tool for assessing long-term analgesic-use trends at hospital EDs. This tool can also mitigate one major bias at EDs, that is the lack of traceability of analgesic administration in emergency contexts. This tool could be adjusted by integrating the average length of stay in the ED.

Race-Specific Patterns of Treatment Intensification Among Hypertensive Patients Using Home Blood Pressure Monitoring: Analysis Using Defined Daily Doses in the Heart Healthy Lenoir Study

BACKGROUND

Racial disparities in blood pressure (BP) control persist, but whether differences by race in antihypertensive medication intensification (AMI) contribute is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To compare AMI by race for patients with elevated home BP readings.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study followed adult patients from 6 rural primary care practices who used home BP monitoring (HBPM) and recorded/reported values. For providers, AMI was encouraged when mean HBPM systolic blood pressure (SBP) values were ⩾135 mm Hg; patients received phone-based coaching on HBPM technique and sharing HBPM findings. AMI was assessed between baseline and 12 months using defined daily dose (DDD) and summed to create a total antihypertensive DDD value.

RESULTS

A total of 217 patients (mean age = 61.4 ± 10.2 years; 66% female; 57% black) provided usable HBPM data. Among 90 (41%) intensification-eligible hypertensive patients (ie, mean HBPM SBP values for 6-months ⩾135 mm Hg), mean total antihypertensive DDD was increased in 61% at 12 months. Blacks had significantly higher mean DDD at baseline and 12 months, but intensification (+0.72 vs +0.65; P = 0.83) was similar by race. However, intensification was greater in males than females (+1.1 vs +0.39; P = 0.031). Reduction in mean SBP following intensification was greater in white versus black patients (-8.2 vs -3.9 mm Hg; P = 0.14). Conclusion/Relevance: Treatment intensification in HBPM users was similar by race, differed significantly by gender, and may produce a greater response in white patients. Differential AMI in HBPM users does not appear to contribute to persistent racial disparities in BP control.

Post-saline infusion test aldosterone levels indicate severity and outcome in primary aldosteronism

OBJECTIVE

The saline infusion test (SIT) is widely used as a confirmatory test for primary aldosteronism (PA). SIT results are judged as follows: post-test aldosterone levels <50 ng/l exclude PA, whereas levels >50 ng/l confirm PA. We hypothesized that post-SIT aldosterone concentrations indicate the severity of PA and might predict outcome.

DESIGN

The study includes 256 PA patients of the German Conn's Registry who prospectively underwent SIT. The data of 126 patients with complete follow-up of 1.2±0.3 years after diagnosis were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups with post-SIT aldosterone levels of 50-100 ng/l (group 1; n=38) and of >100 ng/l (group 2; n=88).

RESULTS

Patients in group 2 had a significantly shorter duration of hypertension (7.5 vs 11.7 years (median), P=0.014), higher systolic blood pressure (BP; 151±16 vs 143±17 mmHg, P=0.036), lower serum potassium (3.3±0.6 vs 3.5±0.4 mmol/l, P=0.006), higher 24-h urine protein excretion (7.4 vs 5.4 mg/dl (median), P=0.012), and were more often female (P=0.038). They showed more often unilateral disease (P<0.005) with larger tumors (14±10 vs 7±10 mm, P=0.021), underwent more often adrenalectomy (75% vs 37%, P<0.005), required a lower number of antihypertensive drugs after adrenalectomy (1.2±1.2 vs 2.5±1.4, P=0.001), had a faster normalization of urinary protein excretion (with medical treatment P=0.049; with Adx P<0.005) at follow-up, and more frequently underlying well-characterized mutation (P=0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

PA patients with post-SIT aldosterone levels of >100 ng/l have a more rapid development of PA caused more frequently by unilateral disease with larger aldosterone-producing adenomas. However, this group of patients may have a significantly better outcome following specific treatment.

Systematic review of surgery and outcomes in patients with primary aldosteronism

BACKGROUND

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. The main aims of this paper were to review outcome after surgical versus medical treatment of PA and partial versus total adrenalectomy in patients with PA.

METHODS

Relevant medical literature from PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Embase OvidSP from 1985 to June 2014 was reviewed.

RESULTS

Of 2036 records, 43 articles were included in the final analysis. Twenty-one addressed surgical versus medical treatment of PA, four considered partial versus total adrenalectomy for unilateral PA, and 18 series reported on surgical outcomes. Owing to the heterogeneity of protocols and reported outcomes, only a qualitative analysis was performed. In six studies, surgical and medical treatment had comparable outcomes concerning blood pressure, whereas six showed better outcome after surgery. No differences were seen in cardiovascular complications, but surgery was associated with the use of fewer antihypertensive medications after surgery, improved quality of life, and (possibly) lower all-cause mortality compared with medical treatment. Randomized studies indicate a role for partial adrenalectomy in PA, but the high rate of multiple adenomas or adenoma combined with hyperplasia in localized disease is disconcerting. Surgery for unilateral dominant PA normalized BP in a mean of 42 (range 20-72) per cent and the biochemical profile in 96-100 per cent of patients. The mean complication rate in 1056 patients was 4·7 per cent.

CONCLUSION

Recommendations for treatment of PA are hampered by the lack of randomized trials, but support surgical resection of unilateral disease. Partial adrenalectomy may be an option in selected patients.