Researchers compare drugs for treating severe hypertension in pregnancy

A recent meta-analysis of published studies has compared the efficacy and safety of antihypertensive drugs during pregnancy.

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. 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 in pregnancy, noted the authors, Dr. Kannan Sridharan and Prof. Reginald Sequeira, of Arabian Gulf University, in Bahrain.