Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether pregnant women who developed maternal hypoglycemia during the 75 g Oral Glucose Test (OGT) were at an increased risk for adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: This case-control study was conducted from computer-based medical records of women who delivered in a tertiary center between January 2015 and December 2018. OGT had been performed with 75 gr glucose for gestational diabetes screening at 24-28 weeks of gestation. The pregnants with 1st-hour blood glucose levels less than 90 mg/dl (low GT) were matched with normoglycemic patients according to age, body mass index (BMI), gravida and gestational weeks. Obstetric and neonatal outcomes were assessed.

Results: Of the 1249 pregnant women included in the study, 62 (4.9%) were in the Low GT group. Admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) showed a rate of 3.48 increase in the Low GT group (95% confidence interval: 1.05-11.47, p=0.04). There was no difference between the two groups in the other obstetric and neonatal parameters such as: preeclampsia, preterm delivery, birth weight, and weight gained during pregnancy and the 5-minute Apgar scores adjusted for gestational age (SGA) of the fetus.

Conclusion: Low 75 g OGT results are significantly associated with increased risk of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.