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Background:  Many serious adverse events associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can be mitigated by timely glucose control during pregnancy, achieved through education and lifestyle choices. The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt and test the preliminary internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the South African English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa versions of the GDM Knowledge Questionnaire (GDMKQ)., Methods:  A prospective, observational study was conducted at a high-risk antenatal clinic in South Africa. Pregnant women ≥ 18 years with GDM were consecutively sampled. Semantic equivalence between the original and adapted versions was assessed. Face and content validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated., Results:  The three SA-GDMKQ versions demonstrated good face and content validity. For internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha values were 0.534 for the Afrikaans version, 0.434 for the English version and 0.621 for the isiXhosa version. Test-retest reliability found kappa (standard error [s.e.]) values ranged between -0.03 (0.18) and 0.89 (0.13) for the English version, between -0.07 (0.18) and 0.53 (0.13) for the Afrikaans version and between 0.28 (0.18) and 0.87 (0.17) for the isiXhosa version. All versions of the SA-GDMKQ had a statistically significant (p  0.001) positive linear correlation between the total scores., Conclusion:  The English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa SA-GDMKQ versions were found to be feasible and easy to comprehend, although lower internal consistency and test-retest reliability were displayed. Further validation of the psychometric properties of the English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa versions of the SA-GDMKQ among larger sample groups is however warranted.Contribution: This study adds to the knowledge around developing and using culturally appropriate questionnaires and outcome measures in research and clinical practice.

Background: South African women of childbearing age are disproportionally affected by obesity and at significant risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Unless pregnant, they do not readily undergo screening for T2DM. With a local focus on improved antenatal care, hyperglycemia is often first detected in pregnancy (HFDP). This may erroneously be attributed to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in all without considering T2DM. Glucose evaluation following pregnancy is essential for early detection and management of women with T2DM in whom persistent hyperglycemia is to be expected. Conventional testing with an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is cumbersome, prompting investigation for alternate solutions., Aim: To compare the diagnostic performance of HbA1c to the current gold standard OGTT in women with HFDP 4-12 weeks post-delivery., Methods: Glucose homeostasis was assessed with OGTT and HbA1c in 167 women with HFDP, 4-12 weeks after delivery. Glucose status was based on American Diabetes Association criteria., Results: Glucose homeostasis was assessed at 10 weeks (IQR 7-12) after delivery. Of the 167 participants, 52 (31%) had hyperglycemia, which was comprised of 34 (20%) prediabetes and 18 (11%) T2DM. Twelve women in the prediabetes subgroup had diagnostic fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-hour plasma glucose (2hPG), but in two-thirds of the patients (22/34) only one time point proved diagnostic. The FPGs and the 2hPGs of six women with HbA1c-based T2DM were both within the prediabetes diagnostic range. According to the HbA1c measurements, 85% of 52 participants with gold standard OGTT defined hyperglycemia (prediabetes and T2DM) as well as 15 of 18 women with postpartum persistent T2DM were correctly classified. According to FPG, 15 women with persistent hyperglycemia would have been missed (11 with prediabetes and four with T2DM; 29%). When compared to an OGTT, a single HbA1c of 6.5% (48mmol/mol) postpartum demonstrated a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 97% for the identification of T2DM., Conclusion: HbA1c may improve access to postpartum testing in overburdened clinical settings where the required standards of OGTT cannot be guaranteed. HbA1c is a valuable test to detect women who will benefit most from early intervention but cannot unequivocally replace OGTT., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Coetzee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Aims: Pregnant women with diabetes often require preterm delivery. Antenatal betamethasone reduces perinatal morbidity and mortality, but induces hyperglycemia. The primary objective was to observe glucose excursions and determine the preliminary safety of a protocol for subcutaneous insulin following betamethasone administration in an antenatal ward., Material and Methods: This retrospective study included all women with diabetes who received betamethasone due to anticipated preterm delivery. Glucose excursions were evaluated in the fasting state and 2-h postprandial. Blood glucose values ≥14mmol/L or ≤3.5mmol/L were regarded as unacceptable hyper- and hypoglycemia respectively. Events over the first 96 h were documented., Results: This study spanned 52 months and included fifty-nine women. Eleven episodes of defined hypoglycemia occurred in six women, all receiving insulin therapy, but none after a corrective dose of insulin. No serious hypoglycemic incident was reported. Seventeen women experienced hyperglycemic incidents almost entirely (47/56) within 48 h of betamethasone administration, most often postprandially (34/56) and in 85% of episodes, preceded by pre-prandial values >9 mmol/L (29/34). 14 (82.4%) of these women were receiving background insulin therapy. No case with gestational diabetes encountered defined hyperglycemia., Conclusions: This small study demonstrated preliminary safety of the protocol. Enhanced surveillance is necessary for 72 h after initiation of betamethasone., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Paulsen, Hall, Mason, van de Vyver, Coetzee and Conradie.)

Aim: To evaluate point-of-care-testing (POCT) for the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus 6-12 weeks post-partum in women with gestational diabetes (GDM)., Methods: Post-partum glucose assessment (75-mg oral glucose tolerance test, OGTT) was performed prospectively in 122 women with GDM (1 November 2015 to 1 November 2017) at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Individuals with known pre-existing diabetes were excluded. The accuracy and clinical utility of POCT (capillary finger-prick) were compared with laboratory plasma glucose (hexokinase and glucokinase methods). The OGTT consisted of two time points (fasting and 2 h) during which concurrent glucose samples (POCT and laboratory) were obtained. Bland-Altman plots and paired analysis were used to assess the analytical accuracy of POCT, whereas its diagnostic performance was determined using positive and negative predictive values to calculate specificity and sensitivity., Results: Spearman's ranked correlation analysis indicated a strong association between POCT and laboratory glucose values at both OGTT time points (fasting, r = 0.95, P < 0.0001; 2 h, r = 0.88, P < 0.0001). Thirty-six women were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes based on gold standard laboratory glucose levels (fasting > 7 mmol/l; 2 h > 11.1 mmol/l). POCT correctly identified Type 2 diabetes in 78% of women (28 of 36) with a positive predictive value of 89.3% and a negative predictive value of 96.7% at the fasting time point. The sensitivity and specificity of POCT to diagnose Type 2 diabetes were 89% (fasting), 85.7% (2 h) and 96.7% (fasting), 98.5% (2 h) respectively. POCT proved less sensitive to diagnose pre-diabetes (69%) but displayed satisfactory specificity (92%) at both time points assessed., Conclusion: POCT accurately identifies women with Type 2 diabetes 6-12 weeks after GDM., (© 2019 Diabetes UK.)

Aim To evaluate antenatal HbA1c at diagnosis and in the 4 weeks preceding delivery to predict early postpartum diabetes mellitus (DM) in women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Methods Seventy-eight women with GDM were prospectively assessed. The ability of HbA1c at GDM diagnosis (t1) and in the 4 weeks preceding delivery (t2) to predict DM 6-12 weeks after delivery was investigated. Glucose assessment was performed between November 1, 2015, and November 1, 2016 at Tygerberg Hospital (TH), Cape Town, South Africa (SA). Individuals with known pre-existing diabetes were excluded. Results HbA1c of 6.2% (44 mmol/mol) and 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) at t1 predicted DM with sensitivities of 95% and 90% and specificities of 62% and 70% respectively. At t2 the best cut-off for HbA1c, in accordance with t1, was also 6.2% (44 mmol/mol; sensitivity 92%, specificity 56%). Nineteen of the 29 women with suspected pre-gestational DM had HbA1c levels ≥ 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) at t1. The increased risk for postpartum DM with HbA1c ≥ 6.2% (44 mmol/mol) was four-fold (OR 3.97 CI 2.08-7.59p < 0.001) at t1 and five-fold (OR 5.08 CI 1.60-16.25 p = 0.006) at t2. Conclusion HbA1c lower than 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) predicts postpartum DM in women with GDM. HbA1c can serve as instrument to improve postpartum follow-up., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetes at 6-12 weeks postpartum among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and to identify prenatal postpartum diabetes predictors., Methods: In the present prospective cohort study, glucose statuses of consecutive women newly diagnosed with hyperglycemia during pregnancy were evaluated at 6-12 weeks postpartum between November 1, 2015, and November 1, 2016, at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Women with known diabetes were excluded., Results: There were 78 patients included; 36 (46%) patients had abnormal postpartum glucose values (21 [27%] diabetes; 15 [19%] pre-diabetes) and 29 (37%) had overt diabetes in pregnancy. In univariate analyses, GDM diagnosis before 24 weeks of pregnancy (P<0.001), degree of hyperglycemia at diagnosis (P=0.001), need for insulin (P=0.001), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the month preceding delivery (P=0.006), older than 36 years (P=0.039), family history of diabetes (P=0.048), and preterm labor (P=0.039) were risk factors for postpartum diabetes. Multivariate analyses confirmed family history of diabetes (OR 7.45, 95% CI 1.05-52.76; P=0.044), HbA1c at diagnosis (OR 5.33, 95% CI 2.25-12.60; P<0.001), and age (OR 8.8, 95% CI 1.35-58.45; P=0.023), as robust predictors of diabetes after GDM., Conclusion: The high prevalence of diabetes supports early postpartum oral glucose tolerance testing. Several women had undiagnosed diabetes. The risk factors identified could be useful for prenatal risk stratification., (© 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Objective: To compare a glucose test based on a standardized, designed breakfast to the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), comparing venous and capillary glucose values for the diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)., Methods: The present prospective, randomized, cross-over trial enrolled patients at high risk of developing GDM who were attending the High-Risk Antenatal Clinic of Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, between March 1 and December 31, 2015. Patients were randomized to initial testing with either the OGTT or a designed breakfast glucose profile (DBGP) glucose test before the alternate test was performed 1 week later; no dietary or other interventions were applied in the intervening period. Venous and capillary fasting and 2-hour glucose values were measured and were compared between the OGTT and DBGP, and between OGTT and laboratory venous samples., Results: There were 51 patients included in the study. The fasting and 2-hour capillary glucose values from the OGTT correlated significantly with the laboratory venous samples (P<0.001 at both time intervals). The 2-hour capillary glucose values from the DBGP demonstrated a satisfactory correlation with those from the OGTT (P<0.001)., Conclusions: The DBGP provided a sufficiently accurate alternate test for the diagnosis of GDM; it warrants further investigation., (© 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)