Implementing telemedicine for the care of women with gestational diabetes mellitus in a rural hospital: an observational retrospective study

BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Oct 30;24(1):1316. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11726-1.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can adversely impact pregnancy outcomes. LGA is a common complication of GDM. Telemedicine is increasingly used for the follow-up of chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate if implementing a telemedicine solution for GDM could decrease the frequency of large for gestational age (LGA) newborns in a rural hospital.

METHODS: This retrospective interrupted-time-series study was conducted in a rural French hospital. An LGA newborn was defined as a newborn with weight ≥ 90^th percentile. The intervention period was defined as starting 45 days after the initial introduction of the telemedicine solution. The two timeframes were: 1 January 2015 to 28 April 2017 (baseline period) and 12 June 2017 to 31 December 2021 (intervention period).

RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2021, 14,382 single births were registered in the hospital and 1,981 births from women with GDM were included. The mean age of mothers was 31.71 ± 5.54 and 32.30 ± 5.14 in women with newborns with birthweights lower and higher than the 90^th percentile respectively (p=0.09). LGA births were reduced from 76/533 (14.3%) in the baseline period to 170/1,448 (11.7%) in the intervention period. This reduction became statistically significant in the multivariate analysis (protective OR: 0.541, 95%CI [0.311 to 0.930],p=0.13). Obesity was associated with LGA (OR: 1.877, 95%CI [1.394 to 2.558]).

CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a telemedicine solution for GDM care in a rural general hospital was associated with a decrease in the adjusted odds of LGA births.

PMID:39478623 | DOI:10.1186/s12913-024-11726-1