Telemedicine for the initial management of newly diagnosed gestational diabetes in the pandemic period: A report of three case studies

Abstract

Amidst the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent guidance regarding movement restrictions, people may not be able to or willing to visit hospitals for a diabetes consultation. This especially applies to women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who are worried about getting infected during their visit to hospital. National telemedicine guidelines have now paved the way for using telemedicine for clinical care in India. We describe a series of three cases, where telemedicine aided the management of GDM. Aided by the use of digital technology, along with glucometers which synchronize with mobile phones and store data in the cloud for clinicians to access, we suggest that telemedicine could be considered in management of hyperglycemia in pregnancy in the current scenario.

Keywords

• coronavirus
• diabetes mellitus
• pandemic
• pregnancy
• telehealth