| Author | C Savona Ventura |
| Abstract | Population cross-sectional studies carried out in 1985 have shown that the prevalence of GDM in the Maltese pregnant population by modern criteria should approximate 5.9%. The aggregated total number of delivered cases identified during 2002 was 62 GDM and 13 preexisting conditions. An audit of oGTTs performed by the Pathology Department during the period 1999-2001 has been carried out. It would appear that only 31.9% of GDM cases are being identified with the present 'Historical-Clinical' screening criteria being used in clinical practice. Using the 'Historical-Clinical' screening criteria results in about 6.72% of pregnant women undergoing oGTT testing a St. Luke's Hospital. This figure appears to be too low for the prevalence rates of the various risk factors. Of those undergoing testing, 22.8% are correctly identified and diagnosed to have GDM; the false negative rate amounts to 77.2% of tests performed. The situation was similar during 2002 though a higher proportion of oGTT tests was requested in Antenatal patients. The positive rate was 27.3%. the DPJC has during 2002 catered for a total of 72 referrals that have required a total of 166 clinic visits, i.e. an average of 2.31 visits per patient. |
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| Key words | diabetes, pregnancy, glucose tolerance test, screening, health information |