Long-term treatment with nicardipine for severe pre-eclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of long-term nicardipine treatment in severely pre-eclamptic women and their fetuses/newborns.

METHODS: We divided 50 pregnant women into three groups according to the length of their treatment: short-term treatment of severely pre-eclamptic women (7 days or less, n=20); medium-term treatment also of severely pre-eclamptic women (8-28 days, n=20); and long-term treatment of women with severe superimposed pre-eclampsia (29 days or more, n=10).

RESULTS: Nicardipine significantly lowered both systolic (P<0.01) and diastolic blood pressures (P<0.025) in all three groups. The incidence of delivery before 28 weeks of gestation was very low in all three groups. There were no maternal or fetal/neonatal adverse effects.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that long-term treatment with nicardipine for severe pre-eclampsia is as effective and safe as a short- and medium-term treatment.