Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in potential renal transplant donors

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is considered to be a contraindication in potential renal transplant donors. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was developed as an alternative to in-office blood pressure measurement (OBPM). The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of ABPM in revealing hypertension in potential renal transplant donors, and to measure the correlation between ABPM results and target organ damage.

Methods: The study included 126 potential living-related renal transplant donors. The potential donors's blood pressures were measured during three separate clinic visits and then evaluated using 24-h ABPM. Cardiac and ophthalmological examinations were also performed to investigate target organ damage in all of the donors.

Results: According to the OBPM, 89 potential donors were normotensive and 37 had borderline or mild hypertension. Of the normotensive group, six were diagnosed as hypertensive after 24-h ABPM, and these subjects had target organ involvement. The status of the other 83 donors remained unchanged after ABPM and investigation for target organ damage. Thirteen of the 37 subjects who had borderline or mildly elevated pressures on OBPM were classified as normotensive after ABPM. These 13 individuals exhibited no hypertension-related target organ damage. The other 24 patients who had been classified as borderline or mildly hypertensive on OBPM fulfilled the criteria for hypertension after ABPM, and hypertensive changes were found at target organ evaluation. Before donor nephrectomy, 94 subjects who were classified as normotensive prior to transplantation underwent renal angiography for routine pretransplant evaluation, and none showed hypertensive or atherosclerotic changes.

Conclusion: In our study, ABPM was found to be more sensitive than OBPM in terms of identifying hypertension in potential renal transplant donors.