Background: The aim of this study was to establish the prognostic import of spontaneous fetal heart-rate deceleration, a sign of fetal distress.
Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 169 patients with fetal heart-rate deceleration treated at Shin-Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital from 1 January 1998 to 24 November 2000. Reviewed variables included type of fetal heart-rate irregularity (including early, variable, late, and spontaneous variants), neonatal outcome, Doppler results, gestational age and weight at birth, and amniotic fluid index.
Results: The spontaneous form of fetal heart-rate deceleration was determined for 11 of the 169 patients (6.5%) diagnosed with fetal heart-rate deceleration, with a 5-min Apgar score below 7 observed for 5 (45.5%) of these subjects, and neonatal complications for 9 (81.8%). Mean gestational age was 32.2+/-3.8 weeks; mean birth weight was 1,560+/-723.9 g. Spontaneous deceleration has a sensitivity of 29%, specificity of 99%, positive predictive value of 81.8%, and negative predictive value of 86.1%.
Conclusion: Although of the different fetal heart-rate deceleration types the spontaneous variant has the lowest incidence rate, the complication and mortality rates are highest and it is also associated with lower birth weight and higher incidence of pre-term labor. Failure of the fetus to cope with the compromised placental flow and uterine compression resulting from oligohydramnios may be fundamental to the etiology of spontaneous fetal-heart rate deceleration. Once diagnosed, Doppler ultrasound may be used to assess placental-vessel flow. Emergency treatment may be mandatory if deterioration is noted.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00404-002-0354-z | DOI Listing |
Novel Insights In presence of cardiotocographic features suspected for hypoxic insult, intrapartum ultrasound in the hands of experienced operators can demonstrate cerebral edema as an indirect sign of fetal hypoxia affecting the fetal CNS and exclude non-hypoxic conditions potentially leading to abnormalities of the fetal heart rate. Introduction Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a syndrome involving the fetal central nervous system as the result of a perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury. To date, transfontanellar ultrasound represents the first line exam in neonates with clinical suspicion of HIE as it allows to show features indicating acute hypoxic injury and exclude potential non-hypoxic determinants of HIE, however there is no report concerning the sonographic assessment of the brain during labor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJBRA Assist Reprod
January 2025
Reproductive Endocrine and Infertility Medicine Department. Women's Specialized Hospital, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh Second Health Cluster, Saudi Arabia.
Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes, including pregnancy rate, live birth rate, and miscarriage rate between vaginal progesterone Cyclogest suppository and Crinone vaginal progesterone gel as LPS in frozen-thawed embryo transfer in Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) cycles.
Methods: In this comparative retrospective chart review, 283 women who had frozen-thawed embryo transfer were assessed. The patients were divided into two groups based on the route of progesterone administration used as LPS.
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
December 2025
Fetal Medicine Unit, St George's Hospital, London, UK.
Objective: To evaluate whether, in late pregnancy, the cerebral Doppler can identify very small fetuses that are less likely to experience intrapartum compromise (IC).
Material And Methods: This was a retrospective study of 282 singleton pregnancies that underwent an ultrasound scan at 32 + 0- 40 + 6 weeks and were delivered after induction, or spontaneous onset of labor. Very small fetuses were defined as fetuses with estimated weight less than the 3rd centile.
Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban
February 2025
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
This study reports the diagnosis and treatment of a 26-year-old pregnant woman with severe malnutrition combined with acute pyelonephritis causing sepsis, refractory septic shock and multiple organ failure. A female patient, 26 years old, was admitted to hospital mainly due to "menelipsis for more than 19 weeks, nausea and vomiting for 20 days, fever with fatigue for 3 days". At the end of 19 weeks of intrauterine pregnancy, the patient presented with fever accompanied by urinary tract irritation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Obstet Gynecol
January 2025
Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, Fetal Medicine Research Institute, King's College Hospital, London, UK; School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Background: The role of maternal cardiac and hemodynamic assessment during normal and complicated pregnancies has gained attention during the last few years. Some researchers suggested that the manifestation of complications in pregnancy suffering from impaired placentation is mainly driven by pre-existing cardiac changes, identifiable at an early stage by echocardiographic and hemodynamic assessment. It is therefore of great importance to determine the link between placental perfusion and maternal cardiac function and hemodynamics.
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