Managing hypertension in the newborn infants

Hypertension in newborn infants,particularly those requiring intensive care,is becoming increasingly recognized,with prevalence of 0.2-3%. recent studies have established normative tables for blood pressure (bp) in both term and pre-term infants based on the gestational age,postnatal age,gender,weight and height,identifying the neonates at increased risk for early-onset cardiovascular disease. common causes of neonatal hypertension include thromboembolic complications secondary to umbilical artery catheterization,congenital renal structural malformation,renovascular disease,aortic coarctation,as well as acute kidney injury and certain medications. a careful diagnostic evaluation should lead to identification of the underlying cause of hypertension in most infants. treatment options should be tailored to the severity; and underlying cause of hypertension,including intravenous and/ or oral therapy. this review summarizes recent work in these areas,focusing on optimal bp measurement,definition,evaluation and management of hypertension as well as advances in drug therapy of neonatal hypertension.