Intradialytic Hypertension: Prevalence and Associated Factors in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Senegal

Introduction: Intradialytic hypertension is defined as elevation of blood pressure to more than 10 mmHg in the post-dialysis period as compared to the pre-dialysis one. It is an important factor of morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients. The aim of our study is to assess the prevalence and associated factors of intradialytic hypertension. Patients and methods: This is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted over a period of 3 weeks in the hemodialysis units of Aristide Le Dantec Hospital in Dakar and Regional Hospital Center in Ziguinchor. Chronic he-modialysis patients who are at least 18 years old and agreed to participate in study have been included. Patients who did not have 4 measures or those who decided to withdraw from the study were excluded. Intradialytic hypertension was restrained by an increase in systolic blood pressure immediately after the hemodialysis session > 10 mmHg compared to that recorded before session, with a repetition of this phenomenon for at least 4 hemodialysis sessions. Results: Our study included 539 hemodialysis sessions for 93 hemodialysis patients with a mean age of 48.72 ± 14.06 years and a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.21. The mean duration of dialysis was 64.22 ± 45.63 months. Hypertensive nephropathy was significantly common, noted in 38.7% (36 patients). Mean inter dialytic weight gain was 2.04 ± 1.06 kg, and the average dry weight was 62.71 ± 13.69 kg. The average hemoglobin level was 9.27 ± 1.91 g/dl. The mean albumin level was 35.4 ± 7.48 g/l. Nineteen (19) patients were administered erythropoietin stimulating agents (20.4%), and 59 patients were given antihypertensive drugs (63.4%). An elevation of more than 10 mmHg of post-dialysis BP compared to pre-dialysis was noted in 179 sessions, which is 33.2 per 100 hemodialysis sessions. IDH was noted in 21 patients, which represents 22.6%. The factors associated with IDH were as follows: high post-dialysis pulse pressure (PP) (p = 0.0008), pre-dialysis systolic-diastolic hypertension (p = 0.004), pre-dialysis pure systolic hypertension (p = 0.01), post-dialysis hypertension (p = 0.02), and hypoalbuminemia (p = 0.049). Conclusion: Although recognized for many years, the intradialytic hypertension is often neglected. However, it is common in our cohort of chronic hemodialysis with several associated factors. Its management is essential and will necessarily pass through adequate management of the blood volume.