A Prospective Study to Determine if Management of Cases of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) can be Modified.

Background: To study maternal-fetal outcomes in patients of GDM diagnosed by International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria but subsequently using a twenty-four-hour seven-value sugar profile to evaluate patients before instituting management. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in New Delhi, India, over a period of one year. During this period, women diagnosed as GDM between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation using IADPSG criteria underwent seven-value sugar profile in twenty-four hours before initiating any therapy. Those with normal profile were kept on observation only, whereas others were managed by Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) with or without pharmacotherapy as required to maintain euglycemia. Maternal and fetal outcomes were documented and analysed to detect differences between the groups. Results: Out of 2279 pregnant women, 201 (8.8%) were diagnosed as GDM. The twenty-four-hour seven-value sugar profile was normal in 78 (38.8%) patients, who were managed only by close observation. Treatment was given to other patients; 93 (46.2%) patients were managed with MNT only, whereas pharmacotherapy by way of metformin was added to 22 (10.9%) patients and 8 (3.9%) patients required insulin. Differences in maternal-fetal outcomes between the treated and untreated groups were not found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: The policy of evaluating patients with twenty-four-hour seven-value sugar profile after an abnormal Oral Glucose Tolerance Test eliminated over one-third women from receiving treatment and interventions for GDM without compromising maternal-fetal outcomes.