Biomaterial Database

Nonstress testing and perinatal outcome. 1980

W Rayburn, and J Greene, and M Donaldson

The clinical value of nonstress testing (NST) in assessing fetal well-being is controversial. This study reviews the monitored tracings and subsequent perinatal outcome of 561 high-risk clinic patients who had undergone NST within one week prior to delivery. Two or more adequate accelerations of the fetal heart rate baseline with sufficient fetal activity over a 20-minute period were associated with a low risk of fetal jeopardy and were classified as a reactive test result. The corrected perinatal mortality of patients with reactive NSTs (1/509) was comparable to that of patients with no apparent antepartum complications (6/1,408) and was significantly lower (p less than 0.05) than those of high-risk patients with either nonreactive NSTs (2/22) or no testing (20/1,000). The incidence of subsequent perinatal jeopardy was significantly lower (p less than 0.001) among those high-risk pregnancies with recent reactive NST results (4%) than in those with recent nonreactive NST results (36%) and those without recent testing (13%). Perinatal morbidity among those pregnancies with recent reactive NSTs usually arose in the intrapartum period, and no reason to explain this jeopardy predominated. A reactive NST can be safely repeated in seven days, regardless of the adequately treated maternal risk factor. The only stillbirth following a reactive NST (1/509) probably arose from a cord accident.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011248	Pregnancy Complications	Conditions or pathological processes associated with pregnancy. They can occur during or after pregnancy, and range from minor discomforts to serious diseases that require medical interventions. They include diseases in pregnant females, and pregnancies in females with diseases.	Adverse Birth Outcomes,Complications, Pregnancy,Adverse Birth Outcome,Birth Outcome, Adverse,Complication, Pregnancy,Outcome, Adverse Birth,Pregnancy Complication
D011263	Pregnancy Trimester, Third	The last third of a human PREGNANCY, from the beginning of the 29th through the 42nd completed week (197 to 294 days) of gestation.	Pregnancy, Third Trimester,Trimester, Third,Last Trimester,Last Trimesters,Pregnancies, Third Trimester,Pregnancy Trimesters, Third,Third Pregnancy Trimester,Third Pregnancy Trimesters,Third Trimester,Third Trimester Pregnancies,Third Trimester Pregnancy,Third Trimesters,Trimester, Last,Trimesters, Last,Trimesters, Third
D011296	Prenatal Diagnosis	Determination of the nature of a pathological condition or disease in the postimplantation EMBRYO; FETUS; or pregnant female before birth.	Diagnosis, Prenatal,Fetal Diagnosis,Fetal Imaging,Fetal Screening,Intrauterine Diagnosis,Antenatal Diagnosis,Antenatal Screening,Diagnosis, Antenatal,Diagnosis, Intrauterine,Prenatal Screening,Antenatal Diagnoses,Antenatal Screenings,Diagnosis, Fetal,Fetal Diagnoses,Fetal Imagings,Fetal Screenings,Imaging, Fetal,Intrauterine Diagnoses,Prenatal Diagnoses,Prenatal Screenings,Screening, Antenatal,Screening, Fetal,Screening, Prenatal
D011379	Prognosis	A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on a individual's condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations.	Prognostic Factor,Prognostic Factors,Factor, Prognostic,Factors, Prognostic,Prognoses
D005260	Female		Females
D005313	Fetal Death	Death of the developing young in utero. BIRTH of a dead FETUS is STILLBIRTH.	Fetal Mummification,Fetal Demise,Death, Fetal,Deaths, Fetal,Demise, Fetal,Fetal Deaths,Mummification, Fetal
D005316	Fetal Distress	A nonreassuring fetal status (NRFS) indicating that the FETUS is compromised (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 1988). It can be identified by sub-optimal values in FETAL HEART RATE; oxygenation of FETAL BLOOD; and other parameters.	Nonreassuring Fetal Status,Fetal Status, Nonreassuring
D005318	Fetal Heart	The heart of the fetus of any viviparous animal. It refers to the heart in the postembryonic period and is differentiated from the embryonic heart (HEART/embryology) only on the basis of time.	Fetal Hearts,Heart, Fetal,Hearts, Fetal
D005323	Fetal Monitoring	Physiologic or biochemical monitoring of the fetus. It is usually done during LABOR, OBSTETRIC and may be performed in conjunction with the monitoring of uterine activity. It may also be performed prenatally as when the mother is undergoing surgery.	Monitoring, Fetal,Fetal Monitorings,Monitorings, Fetal