Screening of gestational diabetes - One Health

Screening

A number of screening and diagnostic tests have been used to look for high levels of glucose in plasma or serum in defined circumstances. One method is a stepwise approach where a suspicious result on a screening test is followed by diagnostic test. Alternatively, a more involved diagnostic test can be used directly at the first prenatal visit for a woman with a high-risk pregnancy (for example in those with polycystic ovarian syndrome or acanthosis nigricans). Non-challenge blood glucose tests involve measuring glucose levels in blood samples without challenging the subject with glucose solutions.

A blood glucose level is determined when fasting, 2 hours after a meal, or simply at any random time. In contrast, challenge tests involve drinking a glucose solution and measuring glucose concentration
thereafter in the blood; in diabetes, they tend to remain high. The glucose solution has a very sweet taste which some women find unpleasant; sometimes, therefore, artificial flavours are added.

Some women may experience nausea during the test, and more so with higher glucose levels. More research is needed to find the most effective way of screening for gestational diabetes. Routine screening of women with a glucose challenge test appears to find more women with gestational diabetes than only screening women with risk factors. It is not clear how these screening tests affect the rest of the pregnancy. Future research should include how the method of screening impacts the mother and baby.

Pathways

Opinions differ about optimal screening and diagnostic measures, in part due to differences in population risks, cost-effectiveness considerations, and lack of an evidence base to support large national screening programs. The most elaborate regimen entails a random blood glucose test during a booking visit, a screening glucose challenge test around 24 to 28 weeks' gestation, followed by an OGTT if the tests are outside normal limits.

If there is a high suspicion, a woman may be tested earlier. In the United States, most obstetricians prefer universal screening with a screening glucose challenge test. In the United Kingdom, obstetric units often rely on risk factors and a random blood glucose test. The American Diabetes Association and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada recommend routine screening unless

the woman is low risk (this means the woman must be younger than 25 years and have a body mass index less than 27, with no personal, ethnic or family risk factors) The Canadian Diabetes Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend universal screening.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening. Some pregnant women and careproviders choose to forgo routine screening due to the absence of risk factors, however this is not advised due to the large proportion of women who develop gestational diabetes despite having no risk factors present and the dangers to the mother and baby if gestational diabetes remains untreated.

Non-challenge blood glucose tests

When a plasma glucose level is found to be higher than 126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l) after fasting, or over 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/l) on any occasion, and if this is confirmed on a subsequent day, the diagnosis of GDM is made, and no further testing is required. These tests are typically performed at the first

antenatal visit. They are simple to administer and inexpensive, but have a lower test performance compared to the other tests, with moderate sensitivity, low specificity and high false positive rates.

Screening glucose challenge test

The screening glucose challenge test (sometimes called the O'Sullivan test) is performed between 24 to 28 weeks, and can be seen as a simplified version of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). No previous fasting is required for this screening test, in contrast to the OGTT. The O'Sullivan test involves drinking a solution containing 50 grams of glucose, and measuring blood levels 1 hour later.

If the cut-off point is set at 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l), 80% of women with GDM will be detected. If this threshold for further testing is lowered to 130 mg/dl, 90% of GDM cases will be detected, but there will also be more women who will be subjected to a consequent OGTT unnecessarily.

Oral glucose tolerance test

A standardized oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) should be done in the morning after an overnight fast of between 8 and 14 hours. During the three previous days the subject must have an unrestricted diet (containing at least 150 g carbohydrate per day) and unlimited physical activity. The subject should remain seated during the test and should not smoke throughout the test. The test involves drinking a solution containing a certain amount of glucose, usually 75 g or 100 g, and drawing blood to measure glucose levels at the start and on set time intervals thereafter.

The diagnostic criteria from the National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG) have been used most often, but some centers rely on the Carpenter and Coustan criteria, which set the cutoff for normal at lower values. Compared with the NDDG criteria, the Carpenter and Coustan criteria lead to a diagnosis
of gestational diabetes in 54 percent more pregnant women, with an increased cost and no compelling evidence of improved perinatal outcomes.

The following are the values which the American Diabetes Association considers to be abnormal during the 100 g of glucose OGTT:

• Fasting blood glucose level ≥95 mg/dl (5.33 mmol/L)
• 1 hour blood glucose level ≥180 mg/dl (10 mmol/L)
• 2 hour blood glucose level ≥155 mg/dl (8.6 mmol/L)
• 3 hour blood glucose level ≥140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)

An alternative test uses a 75 g glucose load and measures the blood glucose levels before and after 1 and 2 hours, using the same reference values. This test will identify fewer women who are at risk, and
there is only a weak concordance (agreement rate) between this test and a 3-hour 100 g test.

The glucose values used to detect gestational diabetes were first determined by O'Sullivan and Mahan (1964) in a retrospective cohort study (using a 100 grams of glucose OGTT) designed to detect risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. The values were set using whole blood and required two values reaching or exceeding the value to be positive. Subsequent information led to alterations in O'Sullivan's criteria. When methods for blood glucose determination changed from the use of whole blood to venous plasma samples, the criteria for GDM were also changed.

Urinaryglucose testing

Women with GDM may have high glucose levels in their urine (glucosuria). Although dipstick testing is widely practiced, it performs poorly, and discontinuing routine dipstick testing has not been shown to cause underdiagnosis where universal screening is performed. Increased glomerular filtration rates during pregnancy contribute to some 50% of women having glucose in their urine on dipstick tests at some point during their pregnancy. The sensitivity of glucosuria for GDM in the first 2 trimesters is only around 10% and the positive predictive value is around 20%.