title: Antepartum heart rate patterns in small-for-gestational-age third-trimester fetuses: correlations with blood gas values obtained at cordocentesis.
abstract: Antepartum fetal heart rate records were made immediately before cordocentesis and blood gas analysis in 58 small- and 29 appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses at 27 to 38 weeks' gestation. All appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses had blood PO2 and pH values within the normal ranges for gestation, and in 27 of 29 cases the heart rate pattern was reactive; in two it was nonreactive. Abnormal heart rate patterns were present in 15 of the 19 small-for-gestational-age fetuses that were found to be hypoxemic, acidemic, or both. The abnormalities included decreased baseline variation, absence of accelerations, presence of decelerations, and increased baseline heart rate. A repetitive decelerative pattern best identified the hypoxemic fetuses. Fetal PO2 values in the lower normal range, present in many of the small-for-gestational-age fetuses, were in general associated with a reactive fetal heart rate pattern.
authors.affiliation: Harris Birthwright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King's College School of Medicine and Denstistry, London, England.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sadovsky
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nicolaides
mesh_terms: D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005318:Fetal Heart; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D010313:Partial Pressure; D011247:Pregnancy; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen