Comparison of effectiveness and safety of labetalol and hydralazine on blood pressure during cataract surgery in patients with hypertension

Abstract

Introduction: Cataract surgery is one of the most commonlyperformed surgeries, and patients over the age of60 are major candidates for this procedure. Hypertensionis one of the most commonly reported diseases in this agegroup. Since hypertension is associated with poor surgeryoutcomes, it is important to find appropriate medicationsfor controlling the optimal blood pressure of patients.Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the effectof labetalol and hydralazine on blood pressure duringcataract surgery.Materials and Methods: A total of 63 patients undergoingcataract surgery in 2014-2015 were enrolled in thisclinical trial, and randomly assigned to the hydralazinegroup (n=30) and the labetalol group (n=33). Systolic,diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure and heart ratewere recorded at 0, 5, 10, and 15 minutes.Findings: Changes in the heart rate were similar in bothgroups and had an increasing trend from baseline to 15minutes. In terms of changes in blood pressure after druginjection, labetalol resulted in a more rapid decrease in systolic,diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures than hydralazine,so that their values were significantly lower in thelabetalol group than the hydralazine group after 5 minutes.Conclusion: Both labetalol and hydralazine seem to besuitable for controlling blood pressure during surgery.However, the more rapid effect of labetalol than hydralazineon lowering blood pressure and the reflex tachycardia,observed most often with hydralazine, should be consideredwhen selecting them.