Severe Hypertension, Hyperkalemia, and Renal Tubular Acidosis Responding to Dietary Sodium Restriction

A 13-year-old girl with severe hypertension (240/140 mm Hg), short stature, marked hyperkalemia (8.6 mEq/liter), and renal tubular acidosis was studied. Renal parenchymal and renovascular diseases as well as endocrinologic causes of hypertension were ruled out by appropriate studies. The hypertension was associated with sodium retention, increased plasma volume, suppressed plasma renin activity, and decreased urinary excretion of aldosterone. Impaired renal excretion of potassium was demonstrated by sodium sulfate infusion when the patient was fed a high-sodium diet but a significant kaliuresis occurred when the test was performed on a low-sodium diet suggesting that renal sodium retention may play a role in the defect in potassium excretion. The renal tubular acidosis was associated with normal distal acidification but a low bicarbonate threshold (19 mmoles/liter) and marked suppression of urinary ammonium excretion. The hypertension, hyporeninemia, and hypoaldosteronism as well as the hyperkalemia and acid-base abnormalities were completely reversed by dietary sodium restriction or the administration of thiazides or furosemide. It is concluded that an unusual avidity for sodium chloride reabsorption by the renal tubules leading to extracellular volume expansion and renin-aldosterone suppression plays a significant pathogenic role in this syndrome and may explain the hypertension and biochemical abnormalities discussed.