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. (C) 2002 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.