Comparison of Hydralazine and Labetalol to lower severe hypertension in pregnancy

Objective: To compare the intravenous Labetalol versus intravenous hydralazine in patients having severe Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and pre eclampsia (PE) in pregnancy.

Methods: Seventy eight women admitted in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Civil Hospital Karachi, having severe PIH/PE and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Random selection of patients was performed using sealed opaqe envelop for administration of either intravenous noted (IV) Labetalol or Hydrallazine. The mean fall in the MAP in each group was noted. This data was compared by applying SPSS version 13. The study was conducted from November 2012 to April 2013.

Results: The mean (±SD) age of the labetalol group was 27.46 (±5.28) years while that in the hydralazine group was 26.28 (±5.17) years. The mean fall in MAP observed in the labetalol group was 29.10 ± 7.21 mmHg and that in the hydralazine group was 25.05 ± 10.15 mmHg which was statistically significant with the p value being 0.046.

Conclusion: Intra Venous labetalol lowered MAP more than hydralazine, when administered to pregnant females with severe Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and pre eclampsia (PE) in pregnancy.