The daytime glucose profile as a standardized model for metabolic management of diabetes mellitus in pregnancy.

On the basis of normative data from non-diabetic gravidae, the daytime glucose profile (DGP) is introduced as a model for insulin management of diabetes mellitus in pregnancy. The DGP employs four preprandial (target level = 70 mg/dl) and three 1-h postprandial glucose determinations (target level = 140 mg/dl). Insulin changes are based on a simple equation applied to individual glucose value difference between the patient (P) and target (T) levels (P - T/20). With the aid of this model, the average (+/- SD) of the daytime mean plasma glucose (DMG) levels of 22 pregnant women requiring insulin treatment (183 +/- 36 mg/dl) approached normalization (114 +/- 15 mg/dl) after 2-7 profile determinations (median = 3.5).