Labetalol for hypertension in pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: Labetalol is one of the most commonly used antihypertensive medications for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy, an increasingly common and leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.

Areas covered: The literature reviewed included the 2014 Canadian national pregnancy hypertension guideline and its references. The additional published literature was retrieved through searches of Medline, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library using appropriate controlled vocabulary (e.g., pregnancy, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy toxemias) and key words (e.g., diagnosis, evaluation, classification, prediction, prevention, prognosis, treatment, and postpartum follow-up).Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and observational studies published in French or English, Jan-Mar/14. The unpublished literature was identified by searching websites of health technology assessment and health technology-related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, clinical trial registries, and national and international medical specialty societies. We evaluated the impact of interventions on substantive clinical outcomes for mothers and babies.

Expert opinion: Labetalol is a reasonable choice for treatment of severe or non-severe hypertension in pregnancy. However, we should continue our search for other therapeutic options.

Keywords: hypertension; labetalol; pre-eclampsia; pregnancy.