title: Non-stress test: a fifteen-year clinical appraisal.
abstract: During a 15-year period (Jan. 1981 to Dec. 1995) a total of 14,950 patients were delivered in our hospital. Throughout this period fetal heart rate monitoring during labor was increased from 10% up to 85%. The overall antepartum testing was also increased from 8 to 15%. In patients with significant complications in pregnancy the mean number of non-stress tests (NST's) per patient was 1.8 tests in 1981 to 4.8 tests in 1995. The average perinatal mortality was 15.2/1000, with a gradual decline. In patients who were subjected to antepartum testing the previous rate was only 3.7%/1000. Our conclusion is that the use of antepartum and intrapartum cardiotocography has increased during the last 15 years in our clinic. As a consequence a considerable decrease was noted in the overall perinatal mortality. The non-stress test is still today the first line of antepartum fetal assessment.
authors.affiliation: II Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology University, Areteion Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salamalekis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loghis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Panayotopoulos
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vitoratos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannaki
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Christodoulacos
mesh_terms: D015148:Cardiotocography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000639:trends*; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D011247:Pregnancy