Prevalencia de encefalopatía hipertensiva en pacientes mayores de 20 años en el Hospital Alcívar durante el periodo 2020 – 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertensive encephalopathy is a type of hypertensive emergency that, if not treated in time, has a very poor prognosis for the patient. As it is an infrequent pathology, the lack of knowledge about it can lead to misdiagnosis and therefore to poor therapy. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertensive encephalopathy in patients over 20 years of age in Hospital Alcívar in the period 2020-2023. Methodology: An observational, retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study of 119 patients who met the inclusion criteria was carried out through the study of medical records of the hospital's emergency admission system. Results: the prevalence of hypertensive encephalopathy in patients over 20 years of age was 31.9%, the average age of those affected was 64.1 years, of which 73.6% were women and 26.3% men. The most affected ethnic group was mestizos with 71.1% of the cases, followed by montubios with 21.1%, whites with 5.3% and Afro-Ecuadorians with 2.6%. Headache quantified on the VAS 9/10 scale was the most prevalent with 50% of the cases and the ocular component of the Glasgow Coma Scale was the most affected with a value of 3 in 73.7% of the cases. The systolic blood pressure range was 204 to 220 mmHg in contrast to the diastolic range, where the most frequent range was 100 to 109 mmHg. The most used drug in 47.4% of the cases was sodium nitroprusside while amlodipine and nitroglycerin were used in the same percentage of 26.3%. Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertensive encephalopathy in people older than 20 years indicates that approximately 32 out of every 100 people admitted with arterial hypertension associated with neurological symptoms such as headache, dizziness, altered state of consciousness present hypertensive encephalopathy. This hypertensive emergency has a poor prognosis if a correct diagnosis is not made in order to select the ideal therapy.