How important it is to determine the blood pressure in paediatric patients?
The prevalence of hypertension among the paediatric population is 1%-2%. The emergency physician should recognise potentially harmful blood pressure (BP) levels and ensure they are adequately treated, in order to avoid life-threatening complications. A hypertensive emergency is a severely elevated BP complicated by target organ dysfunction (cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and/or renal). Hypertensive urgency, however, is a severe elevation in BP without target organ dysfunction. This distinction is critical for the clinical approach. The authors present a case of a severe hypertension due to primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. In this case, the lack of BP measurement in the infant surveillance and the devaluation of an albuminuria detected in a previous routine urine examination, have culminated in a late diagnosis of a severe hypertension, with subsequent effects on target organs.
Pediatrics Department, CHGE, Porto, Portugal. isapintopais@gmail.com
Isabel
I
Pinto Pais
Ana
A
Novo
Margarida
M
Figueiredo
Conceicao
C
Mota
D000293:Adolescent; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents