New home diabetes test offered to at risk pregnant women

A new test that women can carry out in the comfort of their home to screen for gestational diabetes during pregnancy is now being offered by our maternity services.

The remote oral glucose tolerance testing kit, known as GTT@home, is offered to those who have been identified by their midwife as being at higher risk of developing the disease. By home testing, women can test at their convenience and still get rapid results, freeing up hospital clinic time and resources.

Gestational diabetes, which affects up to 20 per cent of UK pregnancies, occurs because of high blood sugar (glucose) and usually develops in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. It is associated with a number on background factors such as a high body mass index (BMI), ethnicity and the age of the expectant mother. Undiagnosed or untreated, it can lead to complications during pregnancy including premature birth, preeclampsia (which causes high blood pressure) and increased growth of the baby.

Undertaken between weeks 24 and 28, or earlier if the mother has received a positive diagnosis in a prior pregnancy, the kit to complete the test is posted to the woman’s home. It works by pricking a finger and then adding a small sample of blood onto a test strip contained within a small electronic device. Next, a glucose drink is consumed followed by a rest period of two hours before taking another finger prick test. Test data is then uploaded for processing using a smartphone app, with results transferred instantly to the midwifery team for review.

As with the traditional test, women are required to fast the night before and during the test.

Kate Harris, Associate Director of Midwifery and Ambulatory Gynaecology, said: “Our aim is to embrace digital technology so we can provide high quality care. The introduction of GTT@home is helping us to achieve this as our community midwives, who would have managed the workload associated with the traditional clinic-based test, can now focus more of their time and expertise on other critical areas of antenatal and postnatal care.”

James Jackson, inventor of GTT@home and Chief Executive and founder of Digostics which makes the remote test, said: “We are thrilled to work with Medway Maritime Hospital to offer home gestational diabetes screening to all at-risk women under their care.

“Prior trials, together with multilingual provision for non-English speakers, gives us a high level of confidence that we can reach and screen key patient groups through GTT@home.

“Because the test device analyses both blood samples immediately, the technology also eliminates the risk of sample degradation that can occur between sampling and laboratory analysis with clinic-based testing, leading to missed cases of GDM.”

The partnership between the hospital and Digostics will also see the two parties collaborate on research designed to further improve gestational diabetes screening and deliver new insights on the management of diabetes in pregnancy.

Claire Rosten, Innovation Manager for Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, said: “Collaborations such as these will help ensure better health outcomes for women, improve access to care and make a real difference to health equity.”