Drugs to Treat Severe High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Compared

Safety and efficacy of drugs to control high blood pressure during pregnancy were compared in a recent meta-analysis of published studies.

In the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, investigators reported similar efficacy between nifedipine, hydralazine, and labetalol, and negligible differences were observed in their safety profile. The available evidence was inadequate for other drugs.

‘Labetalol, hydralazine, and nifedipine are likely comparable for treating severe hypertension or high blood pressure during pregnancy noted authors comparing safety and efficacy of hypertension drugs in pregnancy.’

Moderate quality of evidence was observed for direct comparison estimates between labetalol and hydralazine but was either low or very low for other comparisons.

Labetalol, hydralazine, and nifedipine are likely comparable for treating acute-onset, severe hypertension or high blood pressure in pregnancy, noted the authors, Dr. Kannan Sridharan and Prof. Reginald Sequeira, of Arabian Gulf University, in Bahrain.

Source: Eurekalert