Gel May Offer Simple Treatment for Newborns With Low Blood Sugar

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- An easy-to-use gel containing dextrose -- a form of sugar -- may be an effective way to treat low blood sugar levels in newborns, new research finds.

Giving infants two doses of the gel nearly halved the odds of treatment failure for low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, compared to an inactive placebo, according to study author Jane Harding, at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues.

"Dextrose gel should be considered for first-line treatment to manage hypoglycemia in late preterm and term babies in the first 48 hours after birth," the researchers concluded in the study published online Sept. 25 in The Lancet.

Low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) can be a serious problem in newborns. It's associated with brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes, according to study background information. Between 5 percent and 15 percent of newborns may have hypoglycemia.

The incidence of hypoglycemia appears to be on the rise, the researchers noted. And, they suspect that the increase in maternal obesity and diabetes may be part of the reason.

Dr. Deborah Campbell, director of the division of neonatology at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City, said three main reasons explain why certain groups of babies may be hypoglycemic soon after birth.

For babies born to mothers with diabetes, especially uncontrolled diabetes, the mother's high blood sugar levels cause the baby's body to pump out more insulin -- a hormone that helps lower blood sugar -- in response. After birth, all the extra insulin can make the baby's blood sugar levels drop. Because the baby may have been living in a high-blood sugar environment, their bodies may not compensate as well as they otherwise might have, Campbell said.

The second group at risk includes babies who are premature and growth-restricted, known as small for gestational age. "These babies don't have significant stores of glycogen (a natural form of sugar in the body). They have lower glycogen stores and less nutrients available, so they very quickly deplete what they have in terms of stored glycogen. But, within 24 hours or so, they can usually stabilize," Campbell noted.

The third group is sick babies, because the stress of illness can speed up the metabolism as the body tries to deal with the illness.

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Gel May Offer Simple Treatment for Newborns With Low Blood Sugar