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 .
Dihydralazine or ketanserin for severe hypertension in pregnancy? Preliminary results.
OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous dihydralazine with ketanserin in the management of  severe hypertension in the third trimester . STUDY DESIGN A double blind r and omised controlled trial , comparing 5 mg dihydralazine with 10 mg ketanserin after an intravenous infusion of 500 ml of a crystalloid solution . Medication was repeated every 20 min till the therapeutic goal of 90 mm Hg was reached , to a maximum of 4 dosages . Main outcome measures were treatment failures and emergency deliveries for fetal distress . RESULTS The therapeutic goal was met more often in patients receiving  dihydralazine  ( 36/38 compared to 27/42 ; P < 0.01 ) . The need for delivery for fetal distress did not differ ( 3 after dihydralazine , 1 after ketanserin , P = 0.29 ) No therapy related perinatal loss occurred , but one mother with an undiagnosed phaechromocytoma died 24 h after receiving dihydralazine . CONCLUSION Ketanserin in this dosage is less effective to lower diastolic blood pressure . The place of a fluid load prior to dihydralazine needs to be further investigated , as fetal heart rate decelerations were less common than previously reported
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 .