Nifedipine or Labetalol: Hypertension Management during Pregnancy

Introduction: Hypertension complicates 10% of pregnancies causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is considered severe hypertension if Systolic >160 and Diastolic >110 lasting more than 15 minutes. It is an Obstetric emergency and needs prompt appropriate treatment. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at Tehsil Headquarter Hospital. One hundred fifty patients were included in the study divided into two groups: Nifedipine group (n:75) getting oral Nifedipine and Labetalol group (n:75) getting IV Labetalol. Results: This study shows that goal therapeutic blood pressure was reached earlier in patients receiving oral Nifedipine 28.2 ± 11.7minutes as compared with those receiving intravenous Labetalol 48.4 +- 23.5minutes. Fewer doses were required for the nifedipine group in contrast to the IV labetalol group Failure of treatment was higher among the IV labetalol group. Conclusion: Oral nifedipine is as productive and safe as compared to Iv labetalol and is more convenient in Low resource settings.