A study prepared at the University of Huelva has allowed to obtain an action protocol that allows a better diagnosis of gestational diabetes while reducing the confirmation tests that are now carried out, with the consequent savings to healthpublic
The study, whose main author is Miguel Ángel Castaño, of the Department of Environmental Biology and Public Health of the University of Huelva, consulted by EFE part of the increase in the incidence that in recent years has had in the world, encrying in the Mediterranean areaBetween 7 % and 9 %, which represents 90 % of all risk pregnancies.
This disease can cause anomalies for the fetus such as macrosomia, respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, malformations or even neonatal death;and caesarean sections, cardiovascular complications, diabetes mellitus and maternal mortality, for the pregnant woman;All of them that are reduced after applying the proper treatment, hence the importance of early diagnosis.
In Spain, the method used is the scheme in two steps, which consists in first performing an oral overload test of 50 g of anhydrous glucose and measuring blood glucose after 1 hour of the intake, being necessary to perform the confirmation test at 2or 3 weeks, to those women with a glycemia × 140 mg/dl at 60 minutes.
This method, according to researchers, is "complicated, annoying and causes certain inconveniences to pregnant women such as nausea, dizziness, vomiting and general discomfort" and also demands that women perform the glycemia curve in two different days, separated by a week asMinimum, with the consequent problems of loss of work days.
Faced with this, the study has obtained a more efficient method to achieve an early diagnosis, studying 388 pregnant women who were controlled and followed in the health area of the Hospital Hospital Complex.
Said protocol part of the same test, the oral load of 50 grams of anhydrous glucose.However, it rules out the second one to those that present a glycemia at 60 minutes equal to or greater than 190 mg/dl or less than 140 mg/dl.and to those who have a glycosylated hemoglobin less than 4.85 % that would never have gestational diabetes;or greater than 5.95 % who will always have gestational diabetes.
An equation proposed by the research team will be applied to the rest and the confirmation test will be performed as long as the patient is at risk of having gestational diabetes.
The protocol proposed in this study would cause a 50 % reduction in the confirmation tests that are currently being carried out, so their establishment in the Andalusian Health Service would mean important economic savings and also entail a reduction in discomfort to women to women, all guaranteeing that all pregnant women with gestational diabetes of our health area are correctly diagnosed.