Steroid-induced Hypertension during Induction Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in US Children's Hospitals

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia achieves excellent cure rates in part due to induction chemotherapy including high dose corticosteroids. Hypertension (HTN) is a known complication of corticosteroids, but incidence and risk factors for steroid-induced HTN are poorly understood. We sought to describe these using a large pediatric health database. Of the 5578 unique patients receiving induction chemotherapy, 14.7% received anti-HTN medications during their initial hospital admission. We found that age below 1 year, obesity, secondary diabetes mellitus, and abnormal glucose were associated with developing steroid-induced HTN. We also found that ICD-9 codes had poor sensitivity for detecting treatment of HTN, suggesting underreporting by physicians.