Intravenous nicardipine effectively treated severe antepartum hypertension, achieving successful treatment in 77.4% of women within 2 hours with an acceptable safety profile.
Observational (n=830)
Yes
Does intravenous nicardipine improve blood pressure control and maternal safety in pregnant women with severe antepartum hypertension?
Intravenous nicardipine is an effective and safe option for the acute management of severe antepartum hypertension, achieving rapid blood pressure control in the vast majority of patients.
INTRODUCTION: Women with severe hypertension during pregnancy require prompt stabilization with a combination of magnesium sulfate and rapidly acting intravenously administered antihypertensives. It remains unknown which antihypertensive is best suited for pregnancy. The present study evaluated the intravenous use of the calcium antagonist, nicardipine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective case series included all pregnant women beyond 20 weeks of gestation with severe antepartum hypertension that were treated with intravenous nicardipine. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: successful treatment, time to successful treatment, and maternal safety. Severe hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 160 mm Hg or more and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 110 mm Hg or more. RESULTS: This study included 830 women. After 1 h of treatment, two-thirds of the women had SBP below 160 mm Hg and DBP below 100 mm Hg. In three out of four women, the mean arterial pressure was below 120 mm Hg. Within 2 h of treatment, 77.4% of women achieved successful treatment. In all cases, nicardipine was eventually effective. Within the first 2 h, 42.7% of women experienced temporary low DBP (ie below 70 mm Hg) without clinical consequences for the mother or fetus. In all cases, the low DBP resolved after discontinuing or reducing the dosage of nicardipine. One case of fetal distress was attributable to maternal hypotension, and a cesarean section was performed at more than 2 h after initiating therapy. During treatment, headache, nausea, and vomiting decreased significantly. CONCLUSIONS: To date, this was the largest case-series study on the use of nicardipine for treating severe antepartum hypertension in pregnancy. We found that nicardipine could effectively and safely treat this condition. Based on its high success rate and acceptable safety profile, nicardipine should be considered a first-line treatment in women with severe hypertension in pregnancy.
Bijvank et al. (Thu,) conducted a observational in Severe antepartum hypertension during pregnancy (n=830). Intravenous nicardipine was evaluated on Successful treatment, time to successful treatment, and maternal safety. Intravenous nicardipine effectively treated severe antepartum hypertension, achieving successful treatment in 77.4% of women within 2 hours with an acceptable safety profile.