[Prevalence of arterial hypertension in patients with radiologic signs of chronic pyelonephritis].

A retrospective study of the prevalence of arterial hypertension in patients with radiological signs of chronic pyelonephritis was done. During six years i.v. urography has been performed in 936 patients, 297 (31.7%) of whom had hypertension, and 123 (13.1%) had radiological signs of chronic pyelonephritis. Out of the patients with chronic pyelonephritis 87 (70.7%) subjects (57 men, 30 women) had arterial hypertension. Bilateral chronic pyelonephritis was radiologically confirmed in 61 (70.1%) and unilateral parenchymal renal disease in 26 (29.9%) of the patients with hypertension. When the diagnosis has been postulated on the basis of radiologically evident changes of kidney parenchym (renal scarring) or the combined calyx-parenchymatous lesions, it could be shown that the frequency of hypertension in these patients was statistically higher (p less than 0.001) than in the group of patients that displayed only isolated calyx lesions. Moderate and pronounced hypertension were more common (52.5%) in patients with bilateral pyelonephritis scarring compared with hypertonic patients having the same, but unilateral changes. Patients with radiological signs of chronic pyelonephritis and hypertension had proteinuria and various degrees of renal failure significantly more often than these with normal blood pressure. On the basis of the presented results the authors concluded that the prevalence of arterial hypertension in patients with chronic pyelonephritis is much higher (70.1%) than in the average population (31.7%). Hypertension is more common and its complications are severe in the patients with chronic fibrose pyelonephritis. In these patients is also frequent chronic renal failure. The observed facts can be explained on the basis of recent knowledge about pathophysiological mechanisms in chronic pyelonephritis (the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, renal prostaglandins system and glomerulo-tubular balance).