Gestational Diabetes | Evaluating Pregnant Woman with Severe Nausea & Vomiting

 

Ways to reduce nausea in a patient during an oral glucose tolerance test:

(1) Use the lowest concentration of glucose and shortest testing period allowed, with a 1 hour, 50 g glucose challenge test preferred.

(2) Chill the glucose solution before and keep it chilled while it is being ingested.

(3) The solution can be slightly diluted to reduce the osmolality.

(4) The solution can be sipped over 5 minutes.

(5) If a person has a needle phobia, use the method that has the minimum number of venipunctures.

(6) Try to reduce odors, noise and bright lights in the room.

 

If an oral glucose tolerance test cannot be performed, then perform a fasting blood glucose. A glucose >= 95 mg/dL is considered elevated for a pregnant woman.