# A predictive nomogram for incomplete clinical success after unilateral adrenalectomy in patients with primary aldosteronism

## TL;DR

This study creates a tool to predict which patients with a specific adrenal gland condition will still have high blood pressure after surgery, even if their hormone levels return to normal.

## Contribution

A novel preoperative nomogram is developed to predict incomplete clinical success after adrenalectomy in primary aldosteronism patients.

## Key findings

- Age, highest systolic blood pressure, and lateralization index are independent predictors of incomplete clinical success.
- The nomogram demonstrated strong discriminative ability (C-index: 0.829) and good calibration.
- Internal validation confirmed high sensitivity (84.2%) and specificity (75.0%) of the model.

## Abstract

Incomplete clinical success after unilateral adrenalectomy for primary aldosteronism (PA) remains a significant challenge, often characterized by persistent hypertension despite biochemical remission.

This study aimed to develop and validate a preoperative predictive nomogram to estimate the probability of incomplete clinical success in PA patients undergoing unilateral adrenalectomy.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 58 PA patients who underwent adrenalectomy. Independent predictors of non-complete clinical success were identified using multivariate logistic regression. A nomogram was developed based on age, highest systolic blood pressure (SBP), and lateralization index (LI). Model performance was evaluated through the concordance index (C-index), calibration plots, and decision curve analysis, with internal validation performed via bootstrapping (1,000 resamples).

Age (OR 1.117), highest SBP (OR 1.241), and LI (OR 1.044) were independently associated with incomplete clinical success. The nomogram showed strong discriminative ability (C-index: 0.829) and good calibration. Internal validation confirmed its reliability (AUC: 0.844, sensitivity 84.2%, specificity 75.0%).

This nomogram offers a reliable, easy-to-use tool for preoperative risk stratification of PA patients, facilitating personalized postoperative management. External validation in multicenter cohorts is warranted.