title: Post-transplant hypertension in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of post-transplant hypertension (HT) and to assess the blood pressure (BP) of transplanted children with possible risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Office and ambulatory blood pressure measurements were performed for each patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine patients were included in the study, including 13 patients with newly diagnosed untreated HT according to the results of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Fourteen patients were on antihypertensive medication, but only in five of these patients was the HT under control; nine patients receiving antihypertensive drugs had uncontrolled HT. Of the 29 patients, two had normotension without any antihypertensive drug(s). Standard deviation scores (SDS) of the nocturnal diastolic BP of the ABPM were positively correlated with the prednisolone dosage per kilogram (p = 0.013, r = 0.45) and negatively correlated with the time period after transplantation (p = 0.024, r = -0.41). Similarly, the SDS of the 24-h diastolic BP was positively correlated with the prednisolone dosage per kilogram (p = 0.006, r = 0.50) and negatively correlated with the time period after transplantation (p = 0.016, r = -0.44). Patients with alternate-day steroid treatment had lower nocturnal systolic (p = 0.016), nocturnal diastolic (p = 0.001) and 24-h diastolic (p = 0.008) SDS when compared to those receiving daily steroid medication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of HT among children after renal transplantation was high among our patient cohort, and steroids had direct impact on nocturnal and diastolic BP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gülhan
authors.forename: Rezan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Topaloğlu
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karabulut
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozaltın
authors.forename: Fazıl Tuncay
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Aki
authors.forename: Yelda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bilginer
authors.forename: Nesrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beşbaş
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D066027:Transplant Recipients
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011241:Prednisone