Gestational diabetes mellitus. At what time should the postprandial glucose level be monitored?

To compare selected pregnancy outcomes for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with management based on testing either 1 hour or 2 hours postprandially according to the ADIPS recommendations.

Prospective study of consecutive women referred for the medical management of their GDM. Women were allowed to select whether they would test either 1 hour postprandial with a target glucose of < 8.0 mmol/L or 2 hours postprandial with a target glucose of <7.0 mmol/L. Changes to diet and the introduction and adjustment of insulin therapy were designed to maintain postprandial glucose levels below these targets.

166 women elected to test 1 hour postprandial and 101 elected to test 2 hours postprandial. There were no significant demographic differences between these 2 groups. The fetal birthweight, percentage of women requiring insulin and the total daily dose of insulin were similar in both groups.

For women with GDM, monitoring either 1 hour or 2 hours postprandially led to similar outcomes. This would suggest that the ADIPS recommendations are equivalent and therefore women can choose the most convenient time for their postprandial monitoring.