Finding the right tests…
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Finding the right tests…
Glucose
PGBS-75 gms measures your blood sugar after drinking a 75-gram glucose solution — the same glucose load used in two different tests, so what your result means depends on why your doctor ordered it. Outside pregnancy, it's usually the two-hour reading of a standard oral glucose tolerance test used to diagnose type 2 diabetes. During pregnancy, India's DIPSI guideline uses this same 75-gram load as a single, non-fasting test, with blood drawn two hours later, to screen pregnant women for gestational diabetes regardless of when they last ate.
This test reports plasma glucose in mg/dL after a 75-gram glucose load. For general diabetes testing, this is the two-hour post-load sample taken after an eight-hour fast. For gestational diabetes screening under DIPSI guidelines used widely in India, the same 75-gram dose is given without regard to fasting, and a single sample is drawn two hours later. Either way, only one post-load draw is needed for this specific reading — it is not a multi-sample test on its own.
Outside pregnancy, this is the two-hour value of the standard oral glucose tolerance test. A reading of 200 mg/dL or higher confirms diabetes; 140 to 199 mg/dL is read as impaired glucose tolerance, a form of prediabetes; below 140 mg/dL is normal.
During pregnancy, India's Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group recommends giving the same 75-gram dose regardless of whether you've eaten, then drawing blood once at two hours. A reading of 140 mg/dL or higher is read as gestational diabetes under this method. It's used because it needs only one sample and no fasting, which makes it practical for busy antenatal clinics.
Research comparing the non-fasting DIPSI approach against fasting-based methods has found it can miss a meaningful share of gestational diabetes cases that a fasting test would catch. Some obstetricians prefer the fasting one-step or two-step protocols instead, especially if you have risk factors, which is why your doctor's choice of protocol matters as much as the glucose dose itself.
It depends on why your doctor ordered it. For general diabetes diagnosis, an eight-hour fast is part of the standard protocol, but for India's DIPSI gestational diabetes screen, fasting is not required.
Outside pregnancy, a two-hour reading below 140 mg/dL is normal, 140 to 199 mg/dL suggests prediabetes, and 200 mg/dL or higher points to diabetes, per ADA and CDC criteria. In pregnancy under DIPSI, 140 mg/dL or higher is read as gestational diabetes, though ranges vary by lab, so check your own report.
Both use a 75-gram glucose load. DIPSI takes a single non-fasting sample at two hours, while the one-step protocol requires fasting first and checks values at fasting, one hour, and two hours.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
For the standard two-hour OGTT and for DIPSI, yes. This is a single-value test, so one abnormal reading against the relevant cutoff is diagnostic.
Studies comparing the two approaches have found the non-fasting DIPSI method can miss some gestational diabetes cases that a fasting-based test would catch. Because of this, doctors managing higher-risk pregnancies sometimes prefer the fasting protocols instead.
The glucose load and blood draw are similar either way. What differs is the fasting requirement, timing, and diagnostic cutoff, depending on which condition and protocol your doctor is checking for.