Relevance of fasting plasma glucose for diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as the raised plasma glucose level detected first during pregnancy. A simple blood sugar test can detect gestational diabetes and to interpret the value various criteria are available like ADA (2016), ACOG, WHO and IADPSG each one having its own limitations. In 2009, DIPSI was proposed for diagnosing/ screening GDM which was later approved by MoH, GOI . Objective: To estimate fasting and 2hr post prandial plasma glucose level following 75gm glucose load in diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus and to find out the correlation between fasting and 2hr post prandial values in GDM women. Material and method: As per inclusion/exclusion criteria of the study 200 pregnant females attending the antenatal clinic were enrolled. Fasting and 2hr post prandial plasma glucose samples were collected following 75gm anhydrous glucose for plasma glucose estimation in fluoride vaccutainer under aseptic precautions. Plasma glucose was analyzed by enzymatic method on fully autoanalyzer. For diagnosing gestational diabetes WHO 1999 criteria were taken. Results: Out of 200 pregnant females, 70 females were included in our study, 52 were healthy while 18 were diagnosed as GDM according to WHO criteria. No correlation was observed between fasting and 2hr post prandial plasma glucose. Conclusion: Fasting plasma glucose sample can be excluded for screening GDM hence, 2hr PP following 75gm glucose load as suggested in one step DIPSI criteria can be used an alternative method for diagnosis of GDM because it is convenient and cost-effective.