Marieke Velema1, Tanja Dekkers1, Ad Hermus1, Henri Timmers1, Jacques Lenders1,2, Hans Groenewoud3, Leo Schultze Kool4, Johan Langenhuijsen5, Aleksander Prejbisz6, Gert-Jan van der Wilt3, Jaap Deinum1. 1. Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 2. Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 3. Department of Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 4. Department of Radiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 5. Department of Urology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. 6. Department of Hypertension, Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.
Abstract
Context: In primary aldosteronism (PA), two subtypes are distinguished: aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (BAH). In general, these are treated by adrenalectomy (ADX) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA), respectively. Objective: To compare the effects of surgical treatment and medical treatment on quality of life (QoL). Design: Post hoc comparative effectiveness study within the Subtyping Primary Aldosteronism: A Randomized Trial Comparing Adrenal Vein Sampling and Computed Tomography Scan (SPARTACUS) trial. Setting: Twelve Dutch hospitals and one Polish hospital. Participants: Patients with PA (n = 184). Interventions: ADX or MRAs. Main Outcome Measures: At baseline and 6-month and 1-year follow-up, we assessed QoL by two validated questionnaires: RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 (RAND SF-36) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Results: At baseline, seven of eight RAND SF-36 subscales and both summary scores, as well as three of five EQ-5D dimensions and the visual analog scale, were lower in patients with PA compared with the general population, especially in women. The beneficial effects of ADX were larger than for MRAs for seven RAND SF-36 subscales, both summary scores, and health change. For the EQ-5D, we detected a difference in favor of ADX in two dimensions and the visual analog scale. Most differences in QoL between both treatments exceeded the minimally clinically important difference. After 1 year, almost all QoL measures had normalized for adrenalectomized patients. For patients on medical treatment, most QoL measures had improved but not all to the level of the general population. Conclusion: Both treatments improve QoL in PA, underscoring the importance of identifying these patients. QoL improved more after ADX for suspected APA than after initiation of medical treatment for suspected BAH.
RCT Entities:
Context: In primary aldosteronism (PA), two subtypes are distinguished: aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (BAH). In general, these are treated by adrenalectomy (ADX) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA), respectively. Objective: To compare the effects of surgical treatment and medical treatment on quality of life (QoL). Design: Post hoc comparative effectiveness study within the Subtyping Primary Aldosteronism: A Randomized Trial Comparing Adrenal Vein Sampling and Computed Tomography Scan (SPARTACUS) trial. Setting: Twelve Dutch hospitals and one Polish hospital. Participants: Patients with PA (n = 184). Interventions: ADX or MRAs. Main Outcome Measures: At baseline and 6-month and 1-year follow-up, we assessed QoL by two validated questionnaires: RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 (RAND SF-36) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Results: At baseline, seven of eight RAND SF-36 subscales and both summary scores, as well as three of five EQ-5D dimensions and the visual analog scale, were lower in patients with PA compared with the general population, especially in women. The beneficial effects of ADX were larger than for MRAs for seven RAND SF-36 subscales, both summary scores, and health change. For the EQ-5D, we detected a difference in favor of ADX in two dimensions and the visual analog scale. Most differences in QoL between both treatments exceeded the minimally clinically important difference. After 1 year, almost all QoL measures had normalized for adrenalectomized patients. For patients on medical treatment, most QoL measures had improved but not all to the level of the general population. Conclusion: Both treatments improve QoL in PA, underscoring the importance of identifying these patients. QoL improved more after ADX for suspected APA than after initiation of medical treatment for suspected BAH.