Hypertensive Crisis: The Other Side of Polyarteritis Nodosa

Hypertensive crisis is a deadly complication that should be avoided at all costs, let alone when it is associated with a rare disease, such as polyarteritis nodosa. We present a case of a child who initially came to our hospital with a prolonged high-grade fever responding to antipyretics. Upon follow up, the patient went into a hypertensive crisis, which led to the admission to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The hypertension was difficult to control until the culprit was revealed. Polyarteritis nodosa was then diagnosed by angiography, which revealed tight stenosis of the right renal artery. Prompt treatment was initiated, and the patient's blood pressure normalized. Our case highlights the importance of detecting such diseases, since it may be easily missed as it usually presents with nonspecific symptoms. Hypertension in children shouldn't be taken lightly and should be investigated promptly. We hope our case report sheds enough light on this issue for other clinicians and researches to identify and prevent later on.