The Use of Diazepam and Hydrallazine in the Treatment of Severe Pre‐eclampsia

Summary An intravenous infusion of diazapan and hydrallazine was given to 52 patients with severe pre‐eclampsia in labour. The results of this treatment have been compared with those from a similar group of patients treated with a lytic cocktail regime or rectal Avertin (tribromethanol). Diazepam and hydrallazine gave significantly better control of blood pressure than the lytic and Avertin regimes without producing any adverse reactions other than a tendency to hypothermia in the newborn. No patient developed eclampsia while being treated with diazepan and hydrallazine, but one patient had a fit while being treated with a lytic cocktail and had a further fit after subsequent Avertin treatment.