Background: The medical care for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during the COVID-19 pandemic was influenced by changing epidemiological conditions and governmental regulations. Aim To compare the clinical data of GDM women between wave I and III of COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: We performed retrospective analysis of the medical records from the GDM clinic of the University Hospital in Krakow, and compared the periods of March-May 2020 and March-May 2021, corresponding to wave I and III, respectively.
Results: GDM women during wave I (N=118) as compared to wave III (N=116) were older (33.0±4.7 vs 32.1±4.8 years; p=0.03), booked later (21.8±8.4 vs 20.3±8.5 weeks; p=0.08) and had the last visit earlier (35.5±2.0 vs. 35.7±3.2 weeks; p<0.01). The pregnancy weight gain were similar (8.9±5.6 vs 8.4±5.6 kg; p=NS). Telemedicine consultations were used more frequently during wave I (36% vs 18% of all visits; p<0.01) while insulin therapy less often (64.7% vs. 80.2%; p<0.01). The mean fasting self-control glucose did not differ (4.8±0.3 vs 4.8±0.3 mmol/l; p=0.25) but a worse postprandial glycemia during wave I was reported (6.6±0.9 vs. 6.3±0.6 mmol/l; p<0.01). Pregnancy outcome data were available from 77 and 73 pregnancies, respectively. The groups were similar for the delivery time (38.2±1.4 vs. 38.1±1.6 weeks), cesarean sections (58.4% vs. 61.3%), APGAR score (9.7±1.0 vs. 9.7±1.0 pts) and birth weight (3306.6±460.6 g vs 3243.9±500.2) (p=NS for all), slightly higher length occurred for Wave I (54.3±2.6 cm vs. 53.3±2.6; p=0.02).
Conclusions: We identified differences in many areas between GDM women booking either during wave I or III of COVID-19 pandemic, however, the pregnancy outcomes were mostly similar.
M.Wilk: None. M.Kania: None. M.Malecki: Advisory Panel; Abbott Diabetes, Novo Nordisk, Lilly, Sanofi, Dexcom, Inc., Bayer Inc., Research Support; Medtronic, Speaker's Bureau; AstraZeneca, AlfaSigma, Merck & Co., Inc., BIOTON S.A., Servier Laboratories, KRKA.
