PS-C33-6: ANALOGOUS ORGAN DAMAGE IN THE BRAIN, EYES, AND KIDNEYS IN MALIGNANT HYPERTENSION

Abstract

Malignant hypertension, a form of hypertensive emergency, causes acute damage in vital organs such as the brain, eyes, and kidneys. We aimed to examine the concurrency of acute hypertensive damage across the target organs to elucidate the underlying analogous pathophysiology in malignant hypertension. This single-center retrospective study evaluated the characteristics of organ damage, short-term clinical course, and interorgan relationships in patients with malignant hypertension. Baseline characteristics of 20 patients who met our inclusion criteria were mean age 48 ± 13 years and blood pressure 222 ± 18/142 ± 16 mmHg; the median estimated glomerular filtration rate and urinary protein level were 49 mL/min/1.73m2 and 1.9 g/g creatinine, respectively. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) was found in 60% of patients with major involvement and a wide variety of distribution patterns in the brainstem. Serous retinal detachment was found in the fundus of 60% of patients. Patients with PRES and serous retinal detachment showed higher levels of urinary protein than those without the symptoms (P = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively), and proteinuria > 1 g/g creatinine highly complicated both PRES and serous retinal detachment (91%). Matrix analysis also showed that the three symptoms were highly associated with each other. These results demonstrate the close relationship and concurrency of hypertensive acute organ damage in the brain, eyes, and kidneys. A common analogous mechanism, such as hyperperfusion-induced capillary leakage in each organ, implies the underlying pathophysiology of PRES, serous retinal detachment, and proteinuria.