title: Fetal biophysical profile score in triplet pregnancies.
abstract: Assessment of the last fetal biophysical profile score (BPS) (excluding nonstress test) prior to delivery was carried out in 35 triplet pregnancies. A normal BPS was found to be reliable in predicting nondistressed fetuses in triplets (specificity, 94.9%), while an equivocal BPS (6/8) had low sensitivity (14.3%) in predicting distressed fetuses. Two stillbirths were not detected by ultrasound prior to delivery. No correlation was found between the BPS and either neonatal morbidity or perinatal mortality. The BPS could not differentiate between distressed and nondistressed fetuses in the same pregnancy. These results suggest that an equivocal BPS has limited value in predicting fetal distress in triplet pregnancies, but a normal one could be used to predict nondistressed fetuses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alcalay
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lipitz
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ben Rafael
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barkai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mashiach
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001034:Apgar Score; D005260:Female; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000503:physiopathology; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014310:Triplets; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal