Masked hypertension is prevalent in children with sickle cell disease: a Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consortium study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of hypertension and abnormal blood pressure (BP) patterns on 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) remains unknown in children with sickle cell disease (SCD).

METHODS: Thirty-eight asymptomatic children with sickle cell disease (SCD) (12 HbSS receiving routine care, 13 HbSC, and 13 HbSS receiving chronic transfusion therapy) underwent 24-h ABPM. Average clinic BP, demographic and biochemical characteristics were collected.

RESULTS: Median age was 13 years (range 11-16), body mass index (BMI) 19.1 kg/m(2) (range 18.2-21.1), and 50% were male. Seventeen subjects (43.6%) had ambulatory hypertension, while 4 (10.3%) were hypertensive based on their clinic BP. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) dip were 8.3 ± 5.9% and 14.7 ± 7.6% respectively. Twenty-three subjects (59%) had impaired SBP dipping, 7 (18%) had impaired DBP dipping, and 5 (13%) had reversed dipping. Clinic and ABP classification were modestly correlated (rho = 0.38, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION: Abnormalities in ABP measurements and patterns in children with SCD are prevalent and require more attention from heath care providers. ABPM is a valuable tool in identifying masked hypertension and abnormalities in circadian BP.