Amlodipine Versus Nifedipine ER for the Management of Postpartum Hypertension

Summary

A significant number of pregnancies are complicated by hypertensive disorders. Hypertension often worsens in the postpartum period and many women need started on medications. Currently, recommended medications for blood pressure management in pregnant and postpartum women are limited, with labetalol and nifedipine ER being the most commonly used medications. While these medications are both effective, they are not without limitations. Amlodipine is a medication in the same class as nifedipine ER. It is a first-line antihypertensive in the general population. It tends to have less side effects than nifedipine ER. It has not been studied specifically in postpartum women. The purpose of this study is to determine if amlodipine is noninferior to nifedipine ER in managing hypertension in the postpartum period.

Timeline

Start

2021-04-09

Primary completion

2022-12-13

Completion

2023-01-25

Publications

• Background Hypertension in pregnancy. Report of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Task Force on Hypertension in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Nov;122(5):1122-1131. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000437382.03963.88. No abstract available.
• Background ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 202: Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jan;133(1):1. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003018.
• Background American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins-Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 203: Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jan;133(1):e26-e50. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003020.
• Background Ainuddin J, Javed F, Kazi S. Oral labetalol versus oral nifedipine for the management of postpartum hypertension a randomized control trial. Pak J Med Sci. 2019 Sep-Oct;35(5):1428-1433. doi: 10.12669/pjms.35.5.812.
• Background Magee L, von Dadelszen P. Prevention and treatment of postpartum hypertension. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Apr 30;2013(4):CD004351. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004351.pub3.
• Background Cairns AE, Pealing L, Duffy JMN, Roberts N, Tucker KL, Leeson P, MacKillop LH, McManus RJ. Postpartum management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2017 Nov 28;7(11):e018696. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018696.
• Background Sharma KJ, Greene N, Kilpatrick SJ. Oral labetalol compared to oral nifedipine for postpartum hypertension: A randomized controlled trial. Hypertens Pregnancy. 2017 Feb;36(1):44-47. doi: 10.1080/10641955.2016.1231317. Epub 2016 Oct 27.
• Background 8. Bloch, M. (2020). In Basile J. (Ed.), Major side effects and safety of calcium channel blockers. UpToDate.
• Background Hosie J, Bremner AD, Fell PJ, James IG, Saul PA, Taylor SH. Comparison of early side effects with amlodipine and nifedipine retard in hypertension. Cardiology. 1992;80 Suppl 1:54-9. doi: 10.1159/000175048.
• Background Naito T, Kubono N, Deguchi S, Sugihara M, Itoh H, Kanayama N, Kawakami J. Amlodipine passage into breast milk in lactating women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and its estimation of infant risk for breastfeeding. J Hum Lact. 2015 May;31(2):301-6. doi: 10.1177/0890334414560195. Epub 2014 Dec 1.

Drugs

Indications