Role of Postpartum Furosemide in Recovery of Patients With Severe Preeclampsia

October 1, 2026 updated by: Dr. Wajeeha Syed, Lady Reading Hospital, Pakistan

Efficacy of Postpartum Furosemide in Patients With Severe Preeclampsia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial will compare oral furosemide with placebo for improving blood pressure control in women with severe preeclampsia after delivery. Participants will receive either 20 mg of furosemide or a placebo tablet once daily for 5 days, in addition to standard postpartum treatment for high blood pressure. Blood pressure, symptoms, adverse events, and the need for additional antihypertensive medication will be monitored for 7 days after delivery. The study will assess whether adding furosemide helps achieve better postpartum blood pressure control compared with placebo.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Severe preeclampsia can be associated with persistent or worsening high blood pressure after delivery. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of oral furosemide as an add-on treatment for postpartum blood pressure control in women with severe preeclampsia.

The study will be conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lady Reading Hospital (MTI), Peshawar. A total of 434 women will be randomized into two groups, with 217 participants in each group. The intervention group will receive oral furosemide 20 mg once daily for 5 days after delivery, while the control group will receive a placebo tablet once daily for 5 days. Both groups will receive standard postpartum antihypertensive management, including monitoring and labetalol when required.

Participants will be followed from delivery through 7 days postpartum. Blood pressure will be monitored daily, including assessment of severe-range hypertension, symptoms, adverse events, and the need for additional antihypertensive medication. The primary assessment of efficacy will be based on achieving blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg on two readings 48 hours apart, without systolic blood pressure reaching 160 mmHg or higher or diastolic blood pressure reaching 110 mmHg or higher, and without requiring an increase in antihypertensive medication through 7 days postpartum.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

434

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
      • Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, 25000

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 45 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women aged 18 to 45 years
  • Any parity
  • Gestational age >28 weeks based on LMP
  • Severe preeclampsia as per the study operational definition

Exclusion Criteria:

History of underlying cardiac disease during pregnancy or postpartum

  • Pre-existing renal dysfunction or serum creatinine >1.2 mg/dL on medical record
  • Significant hypokalemia (K <3 mEq/L) before enrollment
  • Known rheumatologic disease or advanced diabetes
  • History of allergy to furosemide or prior use of diuretics before randomization
  • History of thyroid disorders or other medical illnesses that may interfere with blood pressure management

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Furosemide Group

Participants will receive furosemide 20 mg tablet orally once daily for 5 days after delivery, in addition to standard postpartum antihypertensive treatment, including labetalol when required.
Drug: Furosemide and Potassium

Furosemide 20 mg tablet administered orally once daily for 5 days after delivery as an add-on to standard postpartum antihypertensive treatment.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group

Participants will receive a placebo tablet orally once daily for 5 days after delivery, in addition to the same standard postpartum antihypertensive treatment provided to the furosemide group.
Drug: Placebo

Placebo tablet administered orally once daily for 5 days after delivery, in addition to standard postpartum antihypertensive treatment, including blood pressure monitoring and labetalol when required.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Blood pressure
Time Frame: From delivery through 7 days postpartum

Proportion of participants achieving blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg on two readings taken 48 hours apart, with no systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥110 mmHg, and no need for an increase in antihypertensive medication from delivery through 7 days postpartum.
From delivery through 7 days postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Lady Reading Hospital, Pakistan

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dr Qandil Sattar, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar
  • Principal Investigator: Dr Syeda Wajeeha, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 15, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 25, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 48/LRH/MTI

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The synopsis only states that participant information will be kept confidential and that access will be limited, with the ethics committee able to review the information when necessary.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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