Clin Exp Hypertens. 2026 Dec 31;48(1):2617514. doi: 10.1080/10641963.2026.2617514. Epub 2026 Jan 24.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Malignant hypertension (mHTN) is a severe hypertensive emergency, often associated with renal deterioration. Kidney length may be of useful to identify patients with renal dysfunction. Whether kidney length in mHTN patients is associated with renal prognosis is unclear.
METHODS: The study enrolled 280 mHTN patients with renal thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) who underwent renal biopsy between 2008 and 2023. Linear regression was used to explore patient characteristics of kidney length. The association between kidney length and ≥15% increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was analyzed using Cox regression and logistic regression, respectively. Kidney length was analyzed in tertiles, using the first tertile as reference.
RESULTS: Patients with larger kidney length had higher levels of body mass index (BMI) and eGFR, but lower levels of urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, uric acid, global sclerosis ratio, and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis ratio. Kidney length was strongly positively correlated with BMI, and negatively related to tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis ratio. During the follow-up, 72 patients experienced a ≥15% increase in eGFR and 172 patients progressed to ESRD. Patients in the third tertile of kidney length had a better renal recovery outcome of ≥15% increase in eGFR and lower odds of ESRD.
CONCLUSIONS: In mHTN patients with renal TMA, large kidney length is associated with better renal function improvement of ≥15% increase in eGFR, and lower risk of ESRD. In clinical practice, the measurement of kidney length may serve as a non-invasive indicator to assess renal prognosis and inform timely treatment interventions in mHTN patients.
PMID:41579067 | DOI:10.1080/10641963.2026.2617514