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The diagnosis of primary aldosteronism typically requires at least one confirmatory test. The fludrocortisone suppression test is generally accepted as a reliable confirmatory test, but it is cumbersome. Evidence from accuracy studies of the saline infusion test (SIT) and the captopril challenge test (CCT) has provided conflicting results. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the SIT and CCT using fludrocortisone suppression test as the reference standard. One hundred thirty-five patients diagnosed with primary aldosteronism and 101 patients diagnosed with essential hypertension who completed the 3 confirmatory tests were included for the diagnostic accuracy analysis. The areas under the receiver–operator characteristics curves of the CCT and SIT were 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92–0.98) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.92–0.98), respectively, using post-test plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) for diagnosis. However, the areas under the receiver–operator characteristics curves of the CCT decreased to 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65–0.77) when the PAC suppression percentage was used to diagnose primary aldosteronism. The optimal cutoff of PAC post-CCT was set at 11 ng/dL, resulting in a sensitivity of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84–0.95) and a specificity of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83–0.95), which were not significantly different from those of SIT (with PAC post-SIT set at 8 ng/dL, sensitivity: 0.85 [95% CI, 0.78–0.91], P =0.192; specificity: 0.92 [95% CI, 0.85–0.97], P =0.551). In conclusion, both CCT and SIT are accurate alternatives to the more complex fludrocortisone suppression test. Because CCT is safe and much easier to perform, it may serve as a more feasible alternative. When interpreting the results of CCT, PAC post-CCT is highly recommended.

Adrenal venous sampling is considered to be the most reliable diagnostic procedure to lateralize aldosterone excess in primary aldosteronism (PA). However, normative criteria have not been established partially because of a lack of data in non-PA hypertensive patients. The aim of the study was to investigate aldosterone concentration and its gradient in the adrenal vein of non-PA hypertensive patients. We retrospectively studied the results of cosyntropin-stimulated adrenal venous sampling in 40 hypertensive patients who showed positive screening testing but negative results in 2 confirmatory tests/captopril challenge test and saline infusion test. Plasma aldosterone concentration, aldosterone/cortisol ratio, its higher/lower ratio (lateralization index) in the adrenal vein with cosyntropin stimulation were measured. Median plasma aldosterone concentration in the adrenal vein was 25 819 pg/mL (range, 5154–69 920) in the higher side and 12 953 (range, 1866–36 190) pg/mL in the lower side ( P P

OBJECTIVES In renal denervation (RDN), a wide range in the blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect has been reported. On the basis of the current knowledge of pathophysiology, we hypothesized that the BP-lowering effect of RDN would be inversely related to kidney function. Second, we investigated whether direct and indirect variables of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) would be related as well. METHODS Sixty-seven patients from a prospective cohort of patients treated with RDN with completed 6 months follow-up were included. Data collected during routine standardized work-up before RDN were used: 24-h urine excretion of creatinine, albumin, sodium and catecholamines, plasma creatinine, renin activity and aldosterone, ambulatory BP-monitoring and a captopril challenge test. When considered well tolerated, antihypertensive drugs were stopped before these investigations. RESULTS The BP-lowering was inversely related to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients who stopped antihypertensive drugs prior to testing (s: 0.46, P = 0.013). There was a positive relation between SBP at baseline and the BP-lowering effect of RDN (s:-0.55 mmHg per mmHg, P

Background: Hypokalemia is not a sensitive marker of primary aldosteronism (PA) , and method for screening PA by routine clinical parameters has not yet been established. Objective: We examined whether serum uric acid (UA) or urine pH alone, or their combination with serum K+ level is usable for PA screening . Design and Setting: Cross-sectional analyses were retrospectively performed on consecutive patients who visited a single general hospital from April 2012 to September 2013. Participants: Entry criteria were age Main Outcome Measures: Diagnosis of PA was made in accordance with the guideline of Japanese Society of Hypertension: patients with aldosterone-to-renin activity ratio (ARR) > 20 and one or more positive results in captopril challenge test, furosemide-upright test, saline infusion test and/or ACTH stimulation test. Results: We enrolled 103 patients (PA = 29, essential hypertension [eHT] = 74). PA has lower serum K+ (3.5±0.32 vs 3.8±0.23 mEq/L, p Conclusions: PUK2 score is easy to use and useful for screening PA in hypertensive patients.

Abstract —This prospective study was designed to compare the captopril suppression test with the salt-loading approach to confirm the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism. A total of 49 patients were referred with a presumed diagnosis of primary aldosteronism. The captopril test was performed in the morning with patients in the seated position after overnight fasting. Blood samples for plasma aldosterone were obtained before captopril administration (25 mg PO) and again 2 hours later. Patients were then subjected to a high salt diet (300 mmol sodium per day for 3 days). On the third day, urinary sodium (24 hours) was measured, and plasma aldosterone levels were measured at 8:00 am (recumbent) and at noon (standing). Of the 49 patients, 44 had nonsuppressible aldosterone concentrations with all the clinical characteristics of primary aldosteronism: 22 patients had surgically confirmed unique adenoma, and 22 patients had presumed bilateral hyperplasia. There was a significant correlation between plasma aldosterone values of salt-loaded patients (mean of 8:00 am and noon results) and the values 2 hours after captopril administration ( r =0.8, P

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension responsible for an increased rate of cardiovascular events. According to the Endocrine Society Guidelines, up to 50% of hypertensive patients should be screened for PA, using the aldosterone to renin (or plasma renin activity, PRA) ratio (AARR and ARR, respectively). The automated Diasorin LIAISON® chemiluminescent immunoassay for renin and aldosterone measurement became available and in many laboratories is currently used instead of the classical radioimmunometric PRA and aldosterone assay. Aim of the study was to prospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of AARR and ARR as screening test for PA and the two aldosterone assays also during confirmatory test in patients with a positive screening test. One hundred patients were screened for PA and 44 patients underwent confirmatory test (either by intravenous saline load or by captopril challenge test). We considered as cut off for the AARR 2.7 (ng/dL/mU/L) and for the ARR 30 (ng/dL/ng/mL/h). All patients positive to one of the two screening test underwent confirmatory test; patients with positive confirmatory test underwent subtype diagnosis by CT scanning and adrenal vein sampling. Seventy three patients were diagnosed as essential hypertensives, 22 had bilateral adrenal hyperplasia and 5 had an aldosterone producing adenomas (APA). The AARR displayed a sensitivity of 78% and a specificity of 100%, whereas the ARR had a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 90%. Of the 6/27 PA patients missed by AARR, none resulted to be affected by APA. All PA patients were correctly diagnosed by chemiluminescence at confirmatory test. In the overall sample of 181 measurements available both the correlation for the PRA with renin and for aldosterone in chemiluminescence and radioimmunoassay were highly significant (Rho = 0.66, p