The Prednisolone Glucose Tolerance Test in Pregnancy

Abstract

The response to a prednisolone glucose tolerance test (PGTT) was investigated in 166 pregnant women, divided into control and diabetes-suspect groups. The diabetes-suspect group consisted of pregnant women with a history of a large infant, a family history of diabetes and/or glycosuria during a previous pregnancy. Positive responses by the criteria of Fajans and Conn occurred in 23 per cent of the control group and 44 per cent of the suspect group. After excluding women with abnormal glucose tolerance tests (GTT), the prevalence of positive responses fell to 15 per cent in the control group and 31 per cent in the suspect group. Thirty patients with normal GTT but positive PGTT during pregnancy were studied at varying intervals after delivery. Half of them reverted to normal PGTT. The increased frequency of positive responses to the PGTT in the suspect group suggests that this presumably more rigorous test of islet reserve may permit recognition of suboptimal islet capacity during pregnancy.