Efficacy of the Labetalol versus Methyldopa in Pregnancy Induced Hypertension among patients visiting Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Hypertensive disorder is the most common medical disorders in pregnancy contributing significantly to maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Preeclampsia and eclampsia contribute to death of a woman every 3 minutes worldwide. The use of antihypertensive agents in pregnancy is controversial.

Objective: To compare the mean arterial pressure of labetalol versus methyldopa in pregnancy induced hypertension in patients

Setting: Gynae unit I civil Hospital Karachi.

Study design: Randomized control trial

Duration: Six months from Jan-2017 to Feb- 2018

Subject and Methods: A total of 194 women were included in this study. Women were randomly allocated into two groups, in which 97 women were treated with labetalol and 97 were treated with methyldopa. Outcome was measured in the form of efficacy of the drug by lowering systolic blood pressure less than 140 mmHg and diastolic less than 90 mmHg up to 7 days after starting treatment. Results: The average age of the patients was 30.14±4.84 years. Comparison of MAP between groups is shown in figure 2. MAP was significantly better in those women who were treated with labetalol as compared to methyldopa [92.85±8.95 vs. 99.58±7.73 p=0.0005]. Effectiveness was significantly high in labetalol as compare to methyldopa [91.8% vs. 62.9% p=0.0005]

Conclusion: The present study confirms that labetalol is an effective drug for use and quicker in achieving adequate control of blood pressure in pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Key Words: Hypertensive disorder, pregnancy induced hypertension, Labetalol, Methyldopa