Clinical, metabolic and neurological disorders in full-term newborns from mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective. To determine the clinical and metabolic changes in children born from mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus and to predict perinatal injury of the central nervous system (CNS), taking into account the level of maternal hyperglycemia.Material and methods. The period of early postnatal adaptation was analyzed in 258 full-term infants, who were divided into two groups, depending on the glucose level in the mother’s venous blood during pregnancy: Group 1: 5,1–5,6 mmol/L, Group 2: 5,7–7,0 mmol/L.Results. Based on clinical, functional and laboratory markers (electrolyte balance and carbohydrate metabolism in the blood of a newborn) there was established a correlation between the severity of maternal hyperglycemia and the severity of neonatal disorders. In Group II infants born from mothers with more severe hyperglycemia are more likely to have a respiratory distress syndrome and ischemic-hypoxic injury of the central nervous system in combination with excess birth weight which significantly complicates postnatal adaptation.Conclusion. The concentration of neuron-specific enolase of 4,9 ng/ml in the fetal amniotic fluid is an antenatal marker of perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a newborn.