Objective: Reninoma is a rare benign tumor of the renal juxtaglomerular cell apparatus that causes hypertension and hypokalemia via hypersecretion of renin, while it is extremely rare that reninoma induced hypertensive crisis with reversible posterior encephalopathy syndrome (RPES). To improve the clinical understanding for this disease, we conducted a case-analysis.
Methods: To analyze the clinical and pathological data of a case of reninoma-induced hypertensive crisis with reversible posterior encephalopathy syndrome, who was admitted to Peking University First Hospital in November, 2007 and follow-up.
Results: This was a 16-year old female patient, onset with suddenly spasm with loss of consciousness, while blood pressure stepped up to 210/140 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa), and the head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed "multiple long-T(2) signal", and hypokalemia (2.8 - 3.2 mmol/L), urine protein positive, ultrasound cardiogram revealed left ventricular hypertrophy, laboratory study revealed hyperreninism (38.23 ng·ml(-1)×h(-1), normal range 0.07 - 1.15 ng·ml(-1)×h(-1)) and hyperaldosteronism (660.9 ng/L, normal range 60 - 174 ng/L), abdominal CT-Scan revealed a mass at right kidney, blood pressure achieved safety range and the head MRI was rechecked and revealed "the abnormal long-T(2) signal disappeared". The clinical diagnosis was reninoma induced hypertensive crisis with RPES. The tumor was resected and the pathologic diagnosis was reninoma. The patient remained normotensive in the postoperative period without any medication.
Conclusions: Reninoma represents a rare but surgically curable cause of hypertension, thus the clinical suspicion of it is very important in young patients. If the diagnosis is confirmed, positive treatment must be done immediately to improve the prognosis. The most common cause of RPES is hypertension, and the diagnosis depends on the distinctive head MRI. There is always a good prognosis with the decline of blood pressure rapidly.