Long-term results of surgical and conservative treatment of patients with primary aldosteronism.

The long-term results of surgical and specific drug therapy were compared in a group of 57 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) (46 with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), 11 with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia). Unilateral adrenalectomy completely normalized blood pressure (BP) in 77.1% of surgically treated APA, evidently improving hypertension in remaining 22.9%. No recurrence of the adenoma in the remaining adrenal was seen in any of the surgical APA cases. In 19 of the non-surgical patients (11 with APA, 8 with IHA) monotherapy with spironolactone reduced blood pressure in 73%, though total BP normalization was an exception. The treatment normalized hypokalemia, low total exchangeable potassium, tendency to hypernatremia, and high total exchangeable sodium. Surgical as well as conservative therapy increased to normal or above-normal levels plasma renin activity suppressed prior to treatment. Pre-operatively high urine and plasma aldosterone levels normalized in all adrenalectomized patients, but remained above the normal range during spironolactone therapy in spite of a small decline in its absolute values. The disturbances of maximum renal concentrating capacity due to impaired nephron responsiveness to sufficiently high endogenous vasopressin concentrations were completely eliminated after kaliopenic nephropathy had been repaired. The other renal functions remained within normal values. Echocardiographically diagnosed left ventricular hypertrophy was seen less often than in the other types of arterial hypertension, tending to regress after APA management. Our longitudinal study (2-16 years) showed primary aldosteronism as a well curable, albeit rare, cause of hypertension. As regards BP and laboratory tests normalization, better results were achieved in surgical APA cases than in patients treated with spironolactone. Older age, longer history of hypertension and more frequent incidence of obesity, nephrosclerosis and pyelonephritis may be responsible for hypertension persisting after surgical treatment.