Comparison of oral nifedipine and labetalol in the management of hypertension during pregnancy in tertiary hospital in Pakistan, a cross sectional study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a common medical disorder in pregnancy, complicating one in ten pregnancies. There is a documented association of untreated hypertension during pregnancy and adverse fetomaternal outcomes. Options for oral antihypertensive include methyldopa, nifedipine and lately labetalol. With multiple oral anti-hypertensives being introduced, it is important to test and compare the efficacy of these drugs. OBJECTIVES:to compare the efficacy of oral nifedipine with oral labetalol in the management of patients with hypertension during pregnancy METHOD: Total 62 patients with a diagnosis of hypertension in pregnancy were included and randomly divided into two groups using lottery method i.e. Group-A: Oral Labetalol (200–1800 mg/d) and Group-B: Oral Nifedipine (20–80 mg/day) for blood monitoring on daily basis. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS v26.0. Independent sample t-test and chi square test were applied to compare the quantitative and qualitative variables. RESULTS: Mean ages of the patients into group-A was 24.19 ± 2.926 years and 23.32 ± 2.688 years of patients in group-B. Mean gestational age of patients in group-A was 29.58 ± 3.529 weeks and 29.39 ± 3.442 weeks of patients in group-B. In group-A (Oral Labetalol), successful control of hypertension at least one of regular usage was noted in 31(100.0%) patients and 31(100.0%) patients in group-B, while proteinuria was noted in 2(6.5%) patients and 6(19.4%) patients in group-B CONCLUSION: Both oral Labetalol as well as Nifedipine controls mean blood pressures in the pregnant woman having hypertension. This research is providing supports for large definitive trials scrutinizing benefit and the side effect of the firstlined antihypertensive treatments. The research has been conducted after the approval through the IRB committee of KEMU/ Lady Aitchison hospital with the registration number 15322/REG/KEMU/2022 dated 04/11/22