Ambulatory blood pressure measurement in kidney transplantation: an overview

Comparison of invasive blood pressure monitoring versus normal non-invasive blood pressure monitoring in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients with percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Hypotension post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) causes stent thrombosis and reduced coronary perfusion, which aggravate myocardial ischemia and lead to patient death. Therefore, the accuracy and timeliness of blood pressure monitoring (BPM) are crucial for the nursing of patients post PCI. However, it is still controversial whether invasive blood pressure monitoring (IBPM) or non-invasive blood pressure monitoring (NIBPM) should be used for patients post PCI, and the magnitude of their assistance for patients' recovery remains unclear.

METHODS

A randomized controlled trial was performed in this study. 126 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients post PCI were recruited and randomly divided into two groups (NIBPM group n = 63; IBPM group n = 63).

RESULTS

Clinical characteristics and physiological outcomes of participants received different BPM methods were collected and analyzed to compare the effects of these two methods on the nursing of PCI patients. Compared to NIBPM group, IBPM assisted to shorten the time of myocardial ischemia, promote coronary reperfusion, reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and other complications, and ultimately reduce the mortality of patients post PCI.

CONCLUSION

The application of IBPM contributed to reduce the occurrence of complications, shorten the time of vascular reperfusion, and guide treatment of clinicians in time.

The transplant patient and transplant medicine in family practice

Over the last two decades in particular there has been a remarkable increase in the number of solid organ transplants being performed worldwide alongside improvements in long-term survival rates. However, the infrastructure at transplant centres has been unable to keep pace with the current volume of the transplant patient work load. These pressures on transplant specialist centres has led to calls for an increased role of the general practitioner (GP) managing particular aspects of transplant patients' medical care. Indeed, many aspects of follow-up care such as screening for malignancies, preventing infection through immunisation programmes, and managing cardiovascular risk factors are already important aspects of family practice medicine. This paper aims to review some of the aspects of transplant patient care that is important for healthcare workers in family practice to manage.

Home blood pressure (BP) monitoring in kidney transplant recipients is more adequate to monitor BP than office BP

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is highly prevalent among kidney transplantation recipients and considered as an important cardiovascular risk factor influencing patient survival and kidney graft survival. Aim. Compare the blood pressure (BP) control in kidney transplant patients through the use of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is more comparable with the results of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring compared to the measurement of office blood pressure.

METHODS

From March 2008 to April 2009 prospectively were evaluated 183 kidney transplant recipients with time after transplantation between 1 and 10 years. Patients underwent three methods for measuring BP: office blood pressure measurement (oBP), HBPM and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

RESULTS

In total, 183 patients were evaluated, among them 94 were men (54%) and 89 women (46%). The average age was 50 ± 11 years. The average time of transplant was 57 ± 32 months. Ninety-nine patients received grafts from deceased donors (54%) and 84 were recipients of living donors (46%). When assessed using oBP, 56.3% presented with uncontrolled and 43.7% with adequate control of BP with an average of 138.9/82.3 ± 17.8/12.1 mmHg. However, when measured by HBPM, 55.2% of subjects were controlled and 44.8% presented with uncontrolled BP with an average of 131.1/78.5 ± 17.4/8.9 mmHg. Using the ABPM, we observed that 63.9% of subjects were controlled and 36.1% of patients presented uncontrolled BP with an average 128.8/80.5 ± 12.5/8.1 mmHg. We found that the two methods (oBP and HBPM) have a significant agreement, but the HBPM has a higher agreement that oBP, confirmed P = 0.026. We found that there is no symmetry in the data for both methods with McNemar test. The correlation index of Pearson linear methods for the ABPM with the other two methods were 0.494 for office measurement and 0.768 for HBPM, best value of HBPM with ABPM. Comparing the errors of the two methods by paired t-test, we obtained the descriptive level of 0.837. Looking at the receiver operating characteristic curve for BP measurements in each method, we observed that oBP is lower than those obtained by HBPM in relation to ABPM.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that the results obtained with HBPM were closer to the ABPM results than those obtained with BP obtained at oBP, being more sensitive to detect poor control of hypertension in renal transplant recipients.

Primary care of the renal transplant patient

There has been a remarkable rise in the number of kidney transplant recipients (KTR) in the US over the last decade. Increasing use of potent immunosuppressants, which are also potentially diabetogenic and atherogenic, can result in worsening of pre-existing medical conditions as well as development of post-transplant disease. This, coupled with improving long-term survival, is putting tremendous pressure on transplant centers that were not designed to deliver primary care to KTR. Thus, increasing numbers of KTR will present to their primary care physicians (PCP) post-transplant for routine medical care. Similar to native chronic kidney disease patients, KTRs are vulnerable to cardiovascular disease as well as a host of other problems including bone disease, infections and malignancies. Deaths related to complications of cardiovascular disease and malignancies account for 60-65% of long-term mortality among KTRs. Guidelines from the National Kidney Foundation and the European Best Practice Guidelines Expert Group on the management of hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, diabetes and bone disease should be incorporated into the long-term care plan of the KTR to improve outcomes. A number of transplant centers do not supply PCPs with protocols and guidelines, making the task of the PCP more difficult. Despite this, PCPs are expected to continue to provide general preventive medicine, vaccinations and management of chronic medical problems. In this narrative review, we examine the common medical problems seen in KTR from the PCP's perspective. Medical management issues related to immunosuppressive medications are also briefly discussed.

Left ventricular mass is associated with ventricular repolarization heterogeneity one year after renal transplantation

Ventricular repolarization heterogeneity (VRH) is associated with the risk of arrhythmia and cardiac death. This study investigated the association between VRH and left ventricular mass (LVM) in renal transplant recipients 1 year after transplantation. Echocardiography and 5-min 12-lead electrocardiogram were recorded and GFR was estimated (eGFR) in 68 nondiabetic patients. Beat-to-beat QT interval variability algorithm was used to calculate SDNN-QT and rMSSD-QT indices of VRH. To quantify QT interval variability relative to heart rate fluctuations, QTRR index was calculated. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was present in 44 patients (65%). LVM and incidence of LVH were increased in 28 patients with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) compared with 40 patients with eGFR > or =60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (248 +/- 61 g and 86% vs. 210 +/- 46 g and 50%, respectively; p < 0.01). A direct correlation was found between LVM and SDNN-QT (R = 0.47, R(2)= 0.23; p < 0.001), rMSSD-QT (R = 0.27; R(2)= 0.10; p = 0.034), and QTRR (R = 0.55; R(2)= 0.31; p < 0.001) indices. In conclusion, greater LVM is associated with increased VRH in renal transplant recipients, providing a link with the high risk of arrhythmia and cardiac death, specifically in patients with decreased graft function.

Strategies to reduce clinical inertia in hypertensive kidney transplant recipients

BACKGROUND

Many kidney transplant recipients have hypertension. Elevated systolic blood pressures are associated with lower patient and kidney allograft survival.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis examined the prevalence of clinical inertia (failure to initiate or increase therapy) in the treatment of hypertension before and after the introduction of an automated device (BpTRU) in the kidney transplant clinic.

RESULTS

Historically only 36% (49/134) of patients were prescribed a change in therapy despite a systolic blood pressure > or = 130 mmHg. After the introduction of BpTRU, 56% (62/110) of the patients had a change in therapy. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis of the entire cohort (n = 244) therapeutic changes were associated with higher blood pressures (OR 1.08 per mmHg, 95% CI 1.04-1.12) and use of the BpTRU (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.72-3.83). In addition patients on more medications were also more likely to have a change in therapy.

CONCLUSION

Blood pressure measurement with automated devices may help reduce clinical inertia in the kidney transplant clinic.

Hypertension in Kidney Transplantation

Arterial hypertension in renal transplant patients plays a major role in the progression to chronic allograft failure, and in morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease. Its cause is diverse, with contributions not only from donor and/or recipient factors, but it also is influenced strongly by the type of immunosuppressive regimen. Despite increased awareness of the adverse effects of hypertension in both graft and patient survival, long-term studies have shown that arterial hypertension in the transplant population has not been controlled adequately. Ambulatory blood pressure measurements provide the advantage of a better assessment of the diurnal blood pressure variation, a predictor of target organ damage and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality events. Although the available data do not support the recommendation of any class of antihypertensive medication as preferred agents for blood pressure management in the transplant population, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers have shown beneficial effects beyond their antihypertensive effects. Clinical data in transplant recipients are emerging that suggest that applying interventions proven to be effective in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population may be effective for the transplant population.