Hydralazine was the most common drug for others to be evaluated against .
Diazoxide , given as 75 mg bolus injections , appears to be associated with maternal hypotension requiring treatment , and ketanserin is less effective than hydralazine at reducing blood pressure .
There is no other clear evidence that any one of the other antihypertensive agents is better than another for women with severe hypertension during pregnancy .
Exceptions are diazoxide and ketanserin , which are probably not good choices
BACKGROUND Very high blood pressure during pregnancy poses a serious threat to women and their babies .
The use of drugs to lower blood pressure will reduce this risk for the women , and possibly also for the baby .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to compare different antihypertensive drugs used for treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy .
Short-term treatment of severe hypertension of pregnancy: prospective comparison of nicardipine and labetalol
Abstract Objectives . To assess the efficacy and safety of nicardipine in comparison to labetalol in the initial management of severe hypertension in pregnancy . Design . R and omized prospect i ve study . Setting . The obstetric ward of the teaching hospital of Monastir Tunisia . Patients . Sixty consecutive pregnant women admitted beyond the 24th week of pregnancy with severe hypertension . Intervention . Patients were r and omly assigned to receive intravenously for 1 h either labetalol ( n=30 ) or nicardipine ( n=30 ) . Treatment was titrated to achieve a 20 % lowering of blood pressure ( BP ) . Measurements . Maternal BP and heart rate were measured at inclusion and repeatedly during the first hour following the drugs administration . Fetal heart rate was recorded throughout the study period . The main outcome endpoints were the success rate and the length of time needed to achieve the therapeutic goal . The rate of maternal and fetal adverse events and dose adjustments were also analyzed . Results . Labetalol and nicardipine achieved the 20 % lowering in BP in the same proportion ( 63 % and 70 % success rates , respectively ) . Overall nicardipine caused a significantly greater decrease in systolic and diastolic BP . No patient had any episode of hypotension . The length of time to achieve the BP goal was also similar ( 12 vs. 11 min , respectively ) . Both drugs were well tolerated except for a moderate tachycardia observed with the use of nicardipine . Conclusion . Nicardipine and labetalol are effective and safe in the initial treatment of severe hypertension of pregnancy
Hydralazine was the most common drug for others to be evaluated against .
Diazoxide , given as 75 mg bolus injections , appears to be associated with maternal hypotension requiring treatment , and ketanserin is less effective than hydralazine at reducing blood pressure .
There is no other clear evidence that any one of the other antihypertensive agents is better than another for women with severe hypertension during pregnancy .
Exceptions are diazoxide and ketanserin , which are probably not good choices
BACKGROUND Very high blood pressure during pregnancy poses a serious threat to women and their babies .
The use of drugs to lower blood pressure will reduce this risk for the women , and possibly also for the baby .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to compare different antihypertensive drugs used for treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy .