The Medical Management of Gestational Diabetes in Australia within a Solo Private Practice

Abstract

This study reports the obstetric and fetal outcomes of 266 consecutive patients with gestational diabetes managed by a solo practitioner in private practice. Labour was spontaneous in 75.6% and 93.2% had a gestational age of delivery between 37 and 41 weeks. The elective Caesarean section rate of 14.7% was slightly higher than the rate for the overall obstetric population. Insulin therapy was required in 12.8% of the patients with a mean daily dose of 35.3 units. The rate of insulin use increased to 23.8% during 1993 when the criteria for its use was revised. This was associated with a significantly lower macrosomic rate of 3.6%. Overall there was a significant reduction in the number of babies weighing < or = 2500 g and no increase in the number of babies weighing > or = 4000 g. One patient only was admitted to hospital during this 30-month period and there was 1 neonatal death. These results indicate that successful medical management of gestational diabetes, with obstetric and fetal results similar to the overall obstetric population, is possible outside of tertiary institutions and specialized clinics.