Clinical cure vs a novel trifecta system for evaluating long-term outcomes of minimally-invasive partial or total adrenalectomy for unilateral primary aldosteronism: results of a multicentric series

INTRODUCTION: Several predictive scores to evaluate outcomes of adrenal surgery for unilateral primary aldosteronism (UPA), have been conceived. We compared a novel trifecta that summarizes outcomes of adrenal surgery for UPA with the clinical cure proposed by Vorselaars. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between March 2011 and January 2022, a multi-institutional dataset was queried for UPA. Baseline, perioperative and functional data were collected. Clinical and biochemical complete and partial success rates according to Primary Aldosteronism Surgical Outcome (PASO) criteria were assessed for the overall cohort. Clinical cure was defined either as normotension without antihypertensive medications or normotension with lower or equal use of antihypertensive medications. Trifecta was defined as the coexistence of ≥50% antihypertensive therapeutic intensity score (TIS) reduction (ΔTIS), no electrolyte impairment at 3-months and no Clavien-Dindo (2–5) complications. Cox regression analyses were used to identify predictors of long-term clinical and biochemical success. For all analyses, a two-sided p <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Baseline, perioperative and functional outcomes were analyzed. Out of 90 patients, at a median follow-up of 42 months (IQR 27–54) a complete and partial clinical success was observed in 60% and 17.7% of cases while a complete and partial biochemical success was achieved in 83.3% and 12.3% of cases, respectively. Overall trifecta and clinical cure rates were 21.1% and 58.9%, respectively. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, trifecta achievement (HR 2.87; 95% CI 1.45–5.58; p = 0.02) was the only independent predictor of complete clinical success at long-term follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its complex estimation and more restrictive criteria, trifecta but not clinical cure allows to independently predict composite PASO endpoints on the long run.