Abstract:

Afferent baroreflex failure (ABF) is a rare disease. It refers to the clinical syndrome caused by the impairment of the afferent limb of the baroreflex or its central connections at the level of the medulla. The recognized causes include trauma, surgery in related areas (radical neck tumor surgery, carotid endarterectomy), neck radiotherapy, brain stem stroke, tumor growth paraganglioma and hereditary diseases, among which the most common cause is extensive neck surgery or radiotherapy for neck cancer. The main manifestations are fluctuating hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, paroxysmal tachycardia and bradycardia. This case is a young man, whose main feature is blood pressure fluctuation, accom-panied by neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH). After examination, the common causes of hypertension and nOH were ruled out. Combined with the previous neck radiotherapy and neck lymph node dissection, it was considered that the blood pressure regulation was abnormal due to the damage of carotid sinus baroreceptor after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and neck lymph node dissection, which was called ABF. At the same time, the patient was complicated with chronic hyponatremia. Combined with clinical and laboratory examination, the final consideration was caused by syndrome of in- appropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). Baroreceptors controlled the secretion of heart rate, blood pressure and antidiuretic hormone through the mandatory "inhibition" signal. We speculate that the carotid sinus baroreceptor was damaged after neck radiotherapy and surgery, which leads to abnormal blood pressure regulation and nOH, while the function of inhibiting ADH secretion was weakened, resulting in higher ADH than normal level and mild hyponatremia. The goal of treating ABF patients was to reduce the frequency and amplitude of sudden changes in blood pressure and heart rate, and to alleviate the onset of symptomatic hypotension. At present, drug treatment is still controversial, and non-drug treatment may alleviate some patients' symptoms, but long-term effective treatment still needs further study. The incidence of ABF is not high, but it may lead to serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, and the mechanism involved is extremely complicated, and there are few related studies. The reports of relevant medical records warn that patients undergoing neck radiotherapy or surgery should minimize the da-mage to the baroreceptor in the carotid sinus in order to reduce the adverse prognosis caused by complications.

Key words: Afferent baroreflex failure, Radiotherapy, Radical neck dissection, Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, Hyponatremia