[Diagnosis and treatment of gestational diabetes--the Graz model]

Abstract

Objective: Despite the fact that gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common problem in pregnancy, a good proportion of cases of GDM is either not recognized or treated only inadequately. The main problems are a general trend of underestimating the risk of morbidity, the lack of integration into obstetric care regulations and heterogeneous guidelines regarding the screening and treatment of GDM.

Methods: For decades, the Graz concept of diagnosis and therapy of GDM has offered a 1-step general screening of all pregnant women between gestational weeks 24 and 28; in addition, the option of measuring the amniotic fluid insulin concentration via amniocentesis at gestational weeks 31-32 allows to detect hyperinsulinemic fetuses who represent an obstetric high-risk group.

Conclusion: Lower cutoff levels in the oral glucose challenge test as well as the measurement of amniotic fluid insulin concentrations, which have been implemented in the Graz model for a long time, offer a higher detection rate of GDM and allow a targeted therapy of fetuses at high risk. Screening and therapy of GDM are cost-effective instruments to improve obstetric outcomes, therefore obligatory screening and treatment for GDM should be recommended emphatically.