TELEMEDICINE IN WOMEN WITH GESTATIONAL DIABETES DURING THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: Telemedicine allowed continued care during the COVID-19 epidemic. However, less is known about the role of telemedicine in women with gestational diabetes (GDM). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether telemedicine, compared to standard care, provides equivalent clinical outcomes. Methods: Telemedicine group was treated from home by using videoconference and glucose measurements sent daily to the telemedicine centre. The first and the last medical appointments were performed at the outpatient clinic, with medical consultation and laboratory examination. Primary outcomes were HbA1c at the first and the last medical check-up and gestational weight gain, while secondary outcome was infant's birth weight, adjusted for sex and gestational age when compared to the standard care group. Results: The telemedicine (n = 39) and the standard care group (n = 39) were equalized by age (31.6±4.1 vs. 33.0±5.3) and prepregnancy body mass index (26.4±5.3 vs. 26.0±4.7). No significant difference was found between groups in gestational weight gain (10.2±4.2 vs. 11.4±5.4). Both groups did not differ significantly in HbA1c at baseline (4.9±0.3 vs. 4.9±0.2), neither was the difference significant at the last visit (5.2±0.3 vs. 5.1±0.3). Furthermore, no difference was found between groups in the birth weight expressed in percentiles (48.0±25.7 vs. 52.6±26.7). Conclusions: Telemedicine has been shown to be a safe alternative to standard care in women with GDM, giving comparable glycemic outcomes. However, comprehensive studies on a larger sample, with a broader set of perinatal outcomes are needed.