Nonstress testing in a physician's office--a five-year experience.
A study was undertaken to evaluate the use of nonstress testing in a physician's office in the management of high-risk pregnancies. A total of 1,485 office nonstress tests were done on 713 high-risk patients between 32 and 43 weeks' gestation. When indicated the contraction stress test was done in hospital. In all, 485 patients had a nonstress test within a week of their delivery, 97% of which were reactive and 2% were nonreactive. Those fetuses with a nonreactive test result had a significantly increased incidence of abnormal fetal heart rate patterns during labor and intrapartum fetal distress leading to cesarean delivery. With strict adherence to a protocol, nonstress testing in the physician's office can be successful in caring for fetuses thought to be at risk.
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005323:Fetal Monitoring; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk