Pregnancy outcome in women with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus complicated by nephropathy.

We retrospectively analysed pregnancy complicated by diabetic nephropathy in patients attending a University teaching hospital (1990-97), to examine fetal/maternal outcomes. Fetal outcomes included early intrauterine deaths, stillbirths, neonatal/perinatal mortality, size for gestational age, malformations, and need for neonatal unit care. Maternal outcomes included change in frequency of hypertension or severe proteinuria, serum creatinine data, and caesarean section rate. There were 21 pregnancies in 18 women, resulting in 21 live infants. Neonatal mortality (RR 10, 95% CI 0-3.9), perinatal mortality (RR 5, 95% CI 0-3.3) and congenital malformations (RR 5.0, 95% CI 0.3-26.3) were greater than in the background population. At delivery, 76% of babies were appropriate in size for gestational age; 57% were preterm, all of whom required neonatal unit care. The caesarean section rate was 90.5% vs. 20% in the background population (RR 4.5, 95% CI 3.4-5.0) (p < 0.05). Hypertension frequency (p < 0.001) and high-grade proteinuria (p < 0.05) increased from booking to delivery. Although the take-home baby rate was 90%, perinatal/neonatal mortality, congenital malformations and caesarean sections, in addition to maternal morbidity, were significantly higher in women with diabetic nephropathy than in the background population.

Ketoacidosis in diabetic pregnancy.

A study was carried out to determine the incidence of maternal ketoacidosis in 635 insulin-treated diabetic pregnancies managed in a combined antenatal/diabetic clinic between 1971 and 1990. A total of 11 episodes occurred, representing 1.73% of diabetic pregnancies of which 9 were in the antenatal period. Overall fetal loss including spontaneous abortion was 22%, but there was only one fetal death in the seven episodes of ketoacidosis in the second and third trimesters. Ketoacidosis is an infrequent occurrence in diabetic pregnancy managed in a combined clinic and is not associated with a high fetal loss after the first trimester.

Impaired glucose tolerance in the third trimester of pregnancy.

When the methods and interpretation of glucose tolerance as recommended by the World Health Organisation were applied to 247 patients in the third trimester of pregnancy selected on account of glycosuria, previous large-for-dates offspring, diabetic family history, maternal obesity or a fetus large for gestational age, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was found in 20 (8.1%). Patients with IGT were older than those with normal tests: 30.5 +/- 4.8 years (mean +/- S.D.) vs 27.8 +/- 4.8 years (p less than 0.02) and more having IGT had a first degree family history of diabetes (25% vs 10%, p less than 0.05). The majority (15) of the IGT patients then received dietary advice to restrict refined carbohydrate. Post-prandial blood glucose and HbA1 concentrations in these subjects remained within the normal range except for one patient who was treated with insulin. Pregnancy outcome was satisfactory in the patients with impaired tolerance and further studies will be required to assess the clinical significance of IGT in pregnancy.

Complications of cone biopsy related to the dimensions of the cone and the influence of prior colposcopic assessment.

A retrospective study of the complications of cone biopsy showed that among 915 women examined between the years 1976 and 1982, 121 (13%) had primary or secondary haemorrhage, 153 (17%) cervical stenosis and 39 (4%) subsequent infertility or an abnormal pregnancy. Cervical stenosis was commonest among women who had had long cones removed. Stenosis occurred more often in the group of women who had been assessed by colposcopy before operation but this was due to the fact that prior colposcopy selected a favourable group of patients with lesions of limited extent that were susceptible to treatment by local destructive therapy, so that prior colposcopic assessment resulted in the removal of longer cones.

Spontaneous abortion and diabetes mellitus.

In 58 consecutive pregnancies in insulin-dependent diabetic women, glycosylated haemoglobin levels were abnormally high in 78% at the time of booking for antenatal care. Spontaneous abortion was the outcome in 15 pregnancies, 10 occurring before the 15th week of gestation. Glycosylated haemoglobin levels were significantly higher in those women who aborted spontaneously than in women who delivered successfully (12.8 +/- 1.8% v. 11.2 +/- 2.3%, mean +/- s.d.). These results emphasise the inadequacy of diabetic control in the first trimester and lend further support to the importance of good control at this critical time in insulin-dependent diabetes.

Serial determinations of human placental lactogen in the management of diabetic pregnancy.

Serial human placental lactogen (H.P.L.) determinations were carried out in 98 diabetic women during the third trimester of pregnancy. H.P.L. levels were consistently higher than those in normal pregnant women. When patients were classified according to the severity of their diabetes (White classification), no significant differences in H.P.L. were detected between groups. Changes in blood-sugar during the day did not affect H.P.L. readings, and insulin requirements during pregnancy could not be related to H.P.L. levels. 10 pregnancies ended in fetal death, and in 4 of them H.P.L. levels were persistently below 4 mug. per ml. Of these 4 infants only 1, whose intrauterine death remains unexplained, could have been saved, 2 having fatal malformations and another infant having died during an episode of maternal ketoacidosis. Among the 6 unsuccessful pregnancies in which H.P.L. levels were greater than 4 mug. per ml., congenital malformations accounted for 5 losses and hyaline-membrane disease for a single neonatal death. These results indicate that H.P.L. determinations probably have a very limited role in the successful management of diabetic pregnancy.