Obstetric-Neonatal Complications of Gestational Diabetes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Analyse the evidence provided regarding neonatal and obstetric complications derived from gestational diabetes. A systematic search of the scientific literature, PUBMED, ScienceDirect was carried out with various search strategies guaranteeing the completeness and reproducibility of the phases of the PRISMA guide. 13 studies were included, 10 simultaneously evaluated obstetric and neonatal complications, the rest (3) evaluated only neonatal complications. The prevalence of GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus) was 12.5% (65,852 of 527,351) Obstetric complications include: emergency caesarean section (OR 1.1 to 2.37), preeclampsia with an OR range of 1.1 to 2.96, and prematurity (OR 1.1 to 2.3). The most frequent neonatal complications are: macrosomia with an OR range of 1.2 to 5.2, with a prevalence of 10.3%; while hypoglycaemia is the one with the highest risk (OR 3.19-11.97), other complications include greater height for gestational age OR 1.3 to 3.43; perinatal asphyxia (OR 1.2-3.4); shoulder dystocia (OR 1.3-2.56); respiratory distress (OR 1.3-2) and hyperbilirubinemia (OR 1.02-1.39). No increased risk of perinatal death was found, the reported OR range is 0.7-0.8. Both obstetric and neonatal gestational diabetes complications are very prevalent and may require intensive care, being a highly relevant public health problem. Although an efficient screen for the early detection of gestational diabetes has been established, greater efforts are required to comply with it and to avoid these complications.