It takes time after bilateral nephrectomy for better control of resistant hypertension in renal transplant patients.

Unlabelled: Severe resistant hypertension in end-stage renal disease patients has traditionally been an indication for bilateral nephrectomy (BN) before kidney transplantation. Nevertheless the influence of BN on successful control of hypertension has not been well documented. We sought to clarify the effect of BN on blood pressure patterns and control in renal transplant patients.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 28 patients who underwent BN between November 2003 and May 2009 before or after kidney transplantation. Nineteen of them were under treatment with 4 or 5 antihypertensives according to the international guide lines; they had BN for resistant hypertension. They were considered as group 1 (G1). Nine patients operated for indications other than resistant hypertension; they constitute group 2 (G2) and considered as a control group. All patients received triple immunosuppression according to our local protocol. BN was done either before, simultaneously or after transplantation. Antihypertensives were recorded before and after BN. We evaluated our patients at 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years. Acute rejection episodes and calcinurein nephrotoxicity were reported.

Results: In G1, the mean age was 30.2 years (range, 10-62). In G2, the mean age was 33.6 years (range, 11-61). Before BN, G1 patients used antihypertensive drugs (3.6 +/- 1.05 drugs per day; mean +/- SD), which was significantly higher than in G2 patients (2.0 +/- 1.65 drugs per day; P = .02). Three months after BN, G1 patients used 2.6 + 0.9 drugs per day, with gradual reduction in number of antihypertensives to 1.4 +/- 1.3 drugs per day at 3 years (P = .008). In G2, there was reduction in antihypertensive drug number per day, which was insignificant during the follow-up period. No difference was noted between G1 and G2 drug administered after BN. We conclude that BN is effective to help blood pressure control, in resistant hypertension in renal transplant patients, but it starts to show up 3 months after surgery, and continues to work for a year and more.