Obstetrical care in gestational diabetes and management of preterm labour

Effect of metformin intervention during pregnancy on the gestational diabetes mellitus in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Metformin is an effective insulin sensitizer treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the functional consequences of metformin administration throughout pregnancy on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have not been assessed. We therefore performed a meta-analysis and system review to determine the effect of metformin on GDM in PCOS. A meta-analysis was performed on the published studies before December, 2013. Meta-analysis examined whether metformin could reduce GDM occurrence in PCOS with a fixed effect model. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated to estimate the strength of association. A total of 13 studies including 5 RCTs and 8 non-RCTs were enrolled. Ultimately, effectiveness analysis demonstrated that, in total, there was no significant availability of metformin on GDM in PCOS in contrast to placebo (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.60-1.92) in RCTs and significant availability of metformin on GDM (OR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.13-0.27) was indicated in non-RCTs. In summary, according to the results of our meta-analysis, strictly, metformin did not significantly effect on GDM with PCOS, though more multicenters RCTs still need to be investigated.

Ultrasound-guided compared to conventional treatment in gestational diabetes leads to improved birthweight but more insulin treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing ultrasound-guided versus conventional management in women with a broad severity-spectrum of gestational diabetes mellitus.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis of trials published until August 2012.

SETTING

PubMed and Web of Science databases.

STUDY SELECTION AND METHODS

Eighteen studies were reviewed in full text. Eligibility criteria were (i) randomized controlled trials comparing metabolic management in women with gestational diabetes mellitus and ultrasound-based vs. the conventional management to assess fetal growth, (ii) representative of the whole spectrum of hyperglycemia and fetal growth, (iii) data on perinatal outcomes. Review Manager 5.0 was used to summarize the results.

RESULTS

Two studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. The ultrasound-guided group had a lower rate of large-for-gestational age newborns (relative risk 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.99), macrosomia (relative risk 0.32, 95% confidence interval 0.11-0.95) and abnormal birthweight (small/large-for-gestational age, relative risk 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.93) and a higher rate of insulin treatment (relative risk 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.14-2.20). The number of women with gestational diabetes with a need to treat to prevent an additional newborn with abnormal birthweight was 10.

CONCLUSIONS

In women with a broad severity-spectrum of gestational diabetes mellitus, ultrasound-guided management improves birthweight distribution, but increases the need for insulin treatment. More research is needed in this area because results are derived from a limited number of patients.