Glyburide Given to Treat Gestational Diabetes May Increase Birth Injury Risk

Concern is growing over the use of the drug glyburide in pregnant women as a means to treat the potentially dangerous condition known as gestational diabetes. A recent study has revealed a possible connection to the drug and several serious complications in babies born to mothers who received it while expecting. As a result, many are calling for additional, targeted studies to examine the true amount of birth injury risk presented by the drug when used in this manner.

Study yielded alarming results

The study, published in the March 30 edition of JAMA Pediatrics, revealed that babies of expectant mothers who took glyburide (DiaBeta) experienced a greater risk of low blood glucose, excessive size at birth, respiratory complications and other injuries. Taking data relating to over 110,000 women from a recognized insurance database, authors of the study examined the pregnancy histories of expectant mothers, with the exception of those already diagnosed with types 1 and 2 diabetes or those under the age of 15 and over the age of 45. Researchers found that there was a 3 percent jump in the total of babies who required admission to the neonatal intensive care unit for those whose mothers had been given glyburide instead of insulin to address gestational diabetes.

Furthermore, 1.1 percent more of those infants experienced respiratory distress than those whose moms had received insulin. 1.4 percent more of the glyburide babies were too large for gestational age than the insulin babies. Given the seriousness of the complications these circumstances can produce, it is clear that additional examination of the drug’s safety is needed.

Greater care required from prescribing physicians

It should be emphasized that though the study did identify an association between the drug’s use during pregnancy and increased risk of birth trauma, it was not engineered to conclusively demonstrate a causal connection. According to lead study researcher Michele Jonsson Funk, glyburide is often given instead of insulin because it is easier to use. Also complicating matters is the fact that the development of gestational diabetes in pregnancy has doubled over the past two decades. This has contributed to a notable increase in the use of glyburide by expectant mothers.

Though further study is certainly warranted to determine the risk level posed by this drug, Funk also asserts that prescribing physicians need to be fully aware of the fact that not every pregnant women with gestational diabetes is an ideal candidate for its use. One theory as to the reason behind the increased incidence of birth complications with this medication is that women who are given the drug often fail to get proper control of their blood glucose levels overall. Therefore, doctors need to utilize an individualistic approach to determining whether glyburide or insulin should be used to address gestational diabetes in a given patient.

Dangers of gestational diabetes

Determining the safest and most effective treatments for gestational diabetes is a real priority for physicians, because the dangers the condition can pose for infants and mothers alike are quite severe. In addition to the aforementioned threats to infants, gestational diabetes can result in high blood pressure and preeclampsia in mothers and boost their risk of eventually developing type 2 diabetes. These are both potentially fatal conditions if allowed to go unchecked. For these reasons, it is critical that researchers and physicians determine which drugs represent the best options for stopping gestational diabetes in its tracks and helping mothers have healthy, uneventful pregnancies.

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