Comparison of methyldopa and labetalol in control of blood pressure in preeclampsia

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in developing world. Materials and Methods: 188 eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment with either labetalol or methyldopa.Observation and Results: Proteinuria was drop down to 8.51 % after treatment with labetalol. There were 14 cases of IUGR in methyldopa group as compared to 4 cases in labetalol group. Patients with labetalol group delivered at term were 82.97 % whereas in methyldopa group 76.59%. There was no significant difference in Apgar score between two groups. Need of nicu in labetalol group was 6% as compared to 7% in methyldopa group. Drowsiness was the most common side effect observed in methyldopa group while very few cases of adverse effects in labetalol group. Conclusion: our study suggests that labetalol is better than methyldopa in treatment of hypertension in pregnancy and has good perinatal and maternal outcome.