Glyburide Use in Moms May Up Neonatal Adverse Events

Glyburide use in mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased risk for newborns to be admitted to an intensive care unit, have respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, birth injury, and be large for gestational age compared to infants born to women treated with insulin, a study has found. Findings from the research have been published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Study authors from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reviewed the risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with GDM treated with glyburide vs. insulin. Women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and those aged <15 years or >45 years were excluded. Data from a nationwide employer-based insurance claims database identified 110,879 women with GDM, of which 8.3% were treated with glyburide (n=4,982) or insulin (n=4,191).

For newborns whose mothers were treated with glyburide, there was a 41% higher risk of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, a 63% higher risk of respiratory distress, 40% higher risk of hypoglycemia, 35% higher risk of birth injury, and 43% higher risk of being large for gestational age, compared with newborns of women treated with insulin.

The use of glyburide, however, was not linked to an increased risk for obstetric trauma, preterm birth, or jaundice. Women in the glyburide group had a 3% decreased risk of cesarean delivery. Researchers call for more studies on these differences in pregnancy outcomes.

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