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 .
Sublingual nifedipine compared with intravenous hydrallazine in the acute treatment of severe hypertension in pregnancy: potential for use in rural practice.
OBJECTIVES The purpose s of this study were to compare the efficacy of sublingual nifedipine with intravenous hydrallazine in the control of acute hypertension of pregnancy and to make a preliminary assessment whether sublingual nifedipine could be recommended for use by midwives faced with severe hypertension in pregnancy in a rural setting . METHODS Subjects were 200 consecutive patients admitted to Kuala Tereng-ganu General Hospital , Malaysia with severe hypertension in pregnancy between August 1989 and June 1990 . Admission criteria were an ongoing viable pregnancy more than 28 weeks and diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) more than 120 mmHg . The patients were r and omly divided into 2 groups . In group I , sublingual nifedipine 5 mg was administered and repeated after 15 minutes if DBP > 120 mmHg ; and in group II hydrallazine 5 mg was intravenously injected and repeated after 15 minutes if DBP > 120 mmHg . Both groups were put on hydrallazine infusion if DBP > 120 mmHg after 30 minutes . The Chi-square test was used for analysis with significance at p < 0.05 . RESULTS There was no statistical difference in the efficacy of therapy for decreasing blood pressure between the 2 groups . The groups were comparable by age , parity , gestational age at presentation , birth weight of infants , incidence of postpartum haemorrhage and fetal distress . Caesarian section rates were similar . In the observational studies on nurses administering the drugs , no significant difficulties were observed . CONCLUSION Sublingual nifedipine was comparable to IV hydrallazine in the treatment of acute hypertension of pregnancy . Nurses were able to administer lingual nifedipine without difficulty
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 .