title: Conservative treatment of intrapartum fetal acidosis with a betamimetic agent.
abstract: 553 cases of intrapartum fetal acidosis (pH less than 7.25) were treated with a betamimetic agent (ritodrine 250-300 micrograms/min). In 403 cases (72.8%), an improvement of fetal pH greater than 0.05 pH U was observed. Improvement was comparable in cases where the cause of fetal distress was abnormal uterine activity and in those where this was not the cause. Indeed, the recovery rate was the same, independent of the percentage of uterine activity inhibition. The neonatal condition was better in the pH recovered versus not recovered group. We suggest that conservative treatment of fetal distress with betamimetic drugs is a reasonable measure for improvement of fetal and neonatal condition.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Ginecología y Obstetricia, Hospital de Sant Pau, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autonoma, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cabero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaz-Romero
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cerqueira
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bellart
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Durán-Sánchez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Esteban-Altirriba
mesh_terms: D000138:Acidosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001034:Apgar Score; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011247:Pregnancy; D012312:Ritodrine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D012312:Ritodrine