Test of O'Sullivan | Diseases and conditions: Medical tests.

What is the test of O'Sullivan

The O'Sullivan test is a medical test that is performed to all pregnant women to detect gestational diabetes. Pregnancy causes many hormonal changes in the woman's body to promote good fetal development. One of the consequences derived of these hormonal changes is that glucose accumulates in the blood, because the insulin is not at all effective purposes that get more sugar to the fetus.
In gestational diabetes insulin works especially poorly, so that sugar builds up in the blood (such as in diabetes mellitus) and reach the fetus in a lot. That produces an excess of power and the fetus has one greater than usual (fetal macrosomia) growth, as well as other associated complications.
Currently the O'Sullivan test is done to all pregnant women in the weeks 24-28 of pregnancy, i.e. within the sixth month of gestation. That time period was chosen because previous studies have shown that it is the best time to be able to detect gestational diabetes.
It is a very simple test. Just take a little sugar and measure the blood a little while to check what is the ability of insulin to lower blood sugar numbers. Does not have any risk for the baby or the mother (if it were not so it would not in pregnancy), and thanks to it avoided serious complications in the development of the fetus and at the time of delivery.

When doing a test of O'Sullivan

A test of O'Sullivan is recommended to all pregnant women who are between the week 24 and 28 of pregnancy. I.e., in the sixth month of pregnancy that is the latest in the second trimester of pregnancy. Today gynecologist or the midwife made is test to all women that are monitored by them due to her pregnancy.
It may happen that a woman is not doing right by Gynecology pregnancy tracking. This happens when a woman is not aware of that is pregnant until it has been months, because he had no access to health care, or because not concerned scientific control by a physician. In such situations should be the O'Sullivan test although I have passed week 28 of pregnancy and the third trimester of pregnancy has been reached already.
Other situations which the O'Sullivan test should be conducted prior to the scheduled dates, even during the first trimester of pregnancy are also given. These situations are:
Age of equal to or greater than 35 years mother.
Obesity, i.e. mass index body (BMI) equal to or greater than 30.
Intolerance to carbohydrate or gestational diabetes in other previous pregnancies.
History of diabetes in first-degree relatives.
Having formerly had a baby with fetal macrosomia.
Basal glucose in fasting between 100 and 125 mg/dl.

Preparing for a test of O'Sullivan

If you are performing a test of O'Sullivan , these are issues that you must take into account:
Duration: usually lasts an hour, just the time that wait since you take 50 grams of glucose until they are measured in blood.
Admission: admission is never needed. It is a test that can be done at a time.
Is necessary to be accompanied?: not, is a painless and not invasive, so you can go alone to the clinic and back in the same way. In addition, is usually performed in a stage of pregnancy that you are still performing a normal everyday life.
Drugs: don't need to take any prior medication. You should tell the doctor all medications that you are taking at that time.
Food: you have to go to the test in fasting; It is the only way to check the amount of sugar in blood on an exact amount of sugar ingested.
Clothes: you can wear normal street clothes and which is adequate for pregnancy (light, wide and that do not tighten the abdomen).
Documents: must not carry any type of document, only your personal identification and your health insurance card, which is always best to take with you when you go to medical testing.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: is a test that is performed precisely in pregnancy. It is difficult to be in period of lactation and new pregnant at the time of gestation; If so, you should consult with your Gynecologist to find out how to make the test more rigorously as possible.
Contraindications: do not have any contraindication.

How a test of O'Sullivan

When you arrive to the consultation of the gynecologist for the first time during your pregnancy will make you some general questions about your state of health: important diseases, risk factors, lifestyle, place of work, etc. Also will ask you for your family's health: parents, siblings, children, and even second-degree relatives as grandparents or uncles. After perform you a general physical examination and will ask you a series of blood tests; Thus will have an idea of how you are. If all is well, the O'Sullivan test will delay it until the second trimester of pregnancy.
The day of the test you will have to go on fasting. Usually take advantage of this day to get blood and make you new analysis. Then you will be asked to take a glass of water with sugar or a small sugar pill. In any case, will be 50 grams of sugar that are accurate that the digestive tract and will quickly absorb into the blood. Then your insulin will be activated and you will begin to get sugar from the blood to cells all over your body but, if you have gestational diabetes, the insulin will not be able to put so much sugar as it should and will remain high blood glucose levels.
When you've taken the pill you have to wait seated and quiet. You must not perform any exercise that consumes glucose (or even go up a small flight of stairs), nor can smoking or eating other things. It is best that you take a book or anything else that will distract you for that time in the query unless you do heavy. Sometimes the gynecologist takes advantage of that time to quote you and thus anticipate waiting time making you any ultrasound or other tests deemed appropriate.
An hour later you will be asked to pass back to the query of the midwife or the gynaecologist. There they will measure the amount of glucose in the blood with a simple test of capillary glucose; so you punctured with a very thin needle into a ball of a finger and take a drop of blood. A small device will be the result of the test, the doctor will perform and you will explain. Later you can you have breakfast and return to your daily routine.

Complications of the O'Sullivan test

The O'Sullivan test complications are not known. It is a completely safe test that does not imply any risk to women who are subjected to it.

The O'Sullivan test results

The results of the test of O'Sullivan receive them the same day that you go to the medical advice to make you the test. They should be interpreted by a gynecologist or a midwife so that they appreciate the measures to take if it's a problematic result. If it is normal, they will not do you any other test, and you can follow the usual controls of pregnancy without changes.
O'Sullivan test shows normal results when blood sugar is equal to or less than 140 mg/dL. If blood glucose numbers are larger turns on the suspicion of gestational diabetes. In that case, another test should be: an overloaded oral glucose (SOG). It is a very similar test, only that more glucose is taken and measured more often in blood.
If the SOG is positive, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes is made and recommended treatment for pregnant women, which is very similar to the one of any diabetic: exercise, diet, and insulin if necessary. The strict control of the treatment of gestational diabetes is very important, because so be avoided complications during pregnancy, both for the mother and baby, and at the time of delivery.
It should bear in mind that the diagnosis of gestational diabetes has long-term implications in other ways. For example, it has shown that women who have suffered from this condition during pregnancy are more likely to have diabetes again in other pregnancies, and even for diabetes mellitus type 2 when they exceed the age of 45.

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