Due to high prevalence of primary aldosteronism (PA) in the general hypertensive population, and its association with worse cardiovascular and renal outcomes, the 2016 Endocrine Society Guidelines explicitly recognize PA as a major public health issue requiring urgent attention. Its prevalence in hypertensive kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is unknown. In this cross‐sectional study, we screened KTRs with hypertension who were on ≥4 antihypertensive medications, on 3 antihypertensive medications with BP ≥ 140/90, and on potassium supplements, or were hypokalemic. 172 of 280 eligible patients successfully completed the testing. A positive screen for PA defined by an aldosterone‐to‐renin ratio of ≥20 and a plasma aldosterone concentration of >15 ng/dL yielded a prevalence of 15.7%. Potassium supplement requirement (52% vs 27%, P = .01) and hypokalemia (25.9% vs 4.8%, P < .01) were more common in patients who screened positive compared with those who screened negative. 67% of patients who screened positive were on potassium supplements and/or were hypokalemic. Our study is the first to systematically explore the prevalence of PA among the hypertensive KTR population, which has inherently high cardiovascular risk. Further studies are needed to determine the cardiovascular and renal risk attributable to PA, and define optimal therapy for KTRs with PA.
Introduction: Eculizumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to complement protein C5, inhibiting complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy. It is approved for several indications including atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. Additionally, eculizumab is used off-label for antibody-mediated rejection and C3 glomerulopathy in renal transplant recipients. Due to limited data available, the purpose of this study was to describe the use of eculizumab treatment in renal transplant recipients. Design: This retrospective single-center study evaluated the safety and efficacy of eculizumab for on- and off-label indications in renal transplant recipients. Adult renal transplant recipients receiving at least 1 dose of eculizumab posttransplant between October 2018 and September 2021 were included. The primary outcome evaluated was graft failure in patients treated with eculizumab. Results: Forty-seven patients were included in analysis. The median age at eculizumab initiation was 51 years [IQR 38-60], with 55% being female. Indications for eculizumab included atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome/thrombotic microangiopathy (63.8%), antibody-mediated rejection (27.7%), C3 glomerulopathy (4.3%), and other (4.3%). Graft failure occurred in 10 patients (21.3%) with a median of 2.4 weeks [IQR 0.5-23.3] from transplant to graft failure. At last follow-up (median 56.1 weeks), 44 (93.6%) patients were alive. After eculizumab initiation, renal function improved at 1 week, 1 month, and last follow-up. Conclusion: Eculizumab treatment demonstrated a benefit on graft and patient survival compared to reported incidence in thrombotic microangiopathy and antibody-mediated rejection. Due to the small sample size and retrospective design, further research is warranted to confirm these results.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.