[Fetal lung maturity delayed on diabetic pregnancies]

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Neonatal Medicine
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can impact fetal development.
• Antenatal corticosteroids are used to accelerate fetal lung maturity.
• Phospholipids lung profile is a key indicator of fetal lung maturity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess fetal lung maturity in pregnancies with gestational diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.
• To evaluate the effect of antenatal steroids on the phospholipids lung profile.
• To identify potential delays in fetal lung maturation.

Main Methods:

• Observational, longitudinal study of 231 pregnant patients with GDM or impaired glucose tolerance.
• Metabolic control assessed via glycosylated hemoglobin and glucose monitoring.
• Amniocentesis performed pre- and post-antenatal steroid administration.
• Phospholipids lung profile analyzed using the Hallman and Kulovich method.

Main Results:

• Significant modifications in the phospholipids lung profile were observed post-antenatal steroid treatment.
• The phosphatidylglycerol fraction showed a statistically significant change (p < 0.001).
• No significant differences in general patient characteristics between groups were found.

Conclusions:

• Fetal lung maturity is delayed across all phospholipids lung profile fractions in pregnancies with gestational diabetes.
• A significant portion of patients (60.75%) at 36 weeks or more showed a discrepancy between gestational age and fetal lung maturity.
• No cases of respiratory distress syndrome were reported in the newborns, suggesting potential protective factors or limitations of the assessed indicators.