Malignant hypertension with thrombotic microangiopathy

Abstract

A 49-year-old man with malignant hypertension, acute kidney injury and mental deterioration was referred to our hospital. We initially observed microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and kidney damage, indicating he had thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). We considered TMA was caused by malignant hypertension and therefore did not start plasma therapy. The French TMA reference center reported that platelet counts and serum creatine levels have high values for predicting severe ADAMTS13 deficiency. The patient fully recovered from his illness after treatment with antihypertensive drugs and intermittent hemodialysis. This case might thus be useful to understand the proper differential diagnosis and treatment of TMA.