Incidence and Cause of Hypertension During Adrenal Radiofrequency Ablation

Purpose

To evaluate the incidence and cause of hypertension prospectively during adrenal radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Methods

For this study, approved by our institutional review board, written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Patients who received RFA for adrenal tumors (adrenal ablation) and other abdominal tumors (nonadrenal ablation) were included in this prospective study. Blood pressure was monitored during RFA. Serum adrenal hormone levels including epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol levels were measured before and during RFA. The respective incidences of procedural hypertension (systolic blood pressure >200?mmHg) of the two patient groups were compared. Factors correlating with procedural systolic blood pressure were evaluated by regression analysis.

Results

Nine patients underwent adrenal RFA and another 9 patients liver (n?=?5) and renal (n?=?4) RFA. Asymptomatic procedural hypertension that returned to the baseline by injecting calcium blocker was found in 7 (38.9%) of 18 patients. The incidence of procedural hypertension was significantly higher in the adrenal ablation group (66.7%, 6/9) than in the nonadrenal ablation group (11.1%, 1/9, P?R ²?=?0.68, P?R ²?=?0.72, P?Conclusion Hypertension occurs frequently during adrenal RFA because of the release of catecholamine.