Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between renal resistive index and inflammation in untreated hypertensive patients. Sixty-one hypertensive patients (male/female: 38/23, aged 45.8 ± 8.3 years, and mean hypertension duration 28.2 ± 35.6 months) and 40 (male/female: 23/17, aged 42.7 ± 8.5 years) healthy control subjects were included in the study. Renal resistive index was positively correlated with age (P = 0.016, r = 0.308), pulse pressure (P = 0.022, r = 0.294), C-reactive protein (P = 0.00, r = 0.757), urinary albumin excretion (P = 0.003, r = 0.371) and negatively correlated with creatinine clearance (P = 0.042, r = -0.262) in the hypertensive group. The hypertensive group was further divided in two groups according to the renal resistive index; < 0.60 and > 0.60. In the > 0.60 group, age (48.0 ± 7.3 versus 42.8 ± 8.9 years, P = 0.01) and C-reactive protein levels (7.4 ± 1.5 versus 4.0 ± 1.6 mg/L, P = 0.01) were higher, and creatinine clearance (95.5 ± 22.1 versus 109.1 ± 25.3 mL/min, P = 0.04) was lower than the < 0.60 group. Renal resistive index was higher in the nondippers than the dippers (0.61 ± 0.04 versus 0.58 ± 0.03, P = 0.003). Renal resistive index is associated with inflammation and may be a useful marker, together with albuminuria, in hypertensive patients when evaluating hypertensive renal damage.
