[Delivery logbook: pertinence of the collected data for scientific exploitation].
OBJECTIVE
To determine if the data recorded in the delivery logbook are relevant and complete compared to the data registered in the patient's medical chart.


METHODS
Prospective study during one month recording all the data registered by the midwives or the medical doctors in the delivery room immediately after the birth. To compare them to the information collected in the patient's medical chart. Our delivery logbook has 55 headings for each patient. During October 1998, we had 156 births.


RESULTS
We had 5.3% of errors divided by missing data and erroneous entries. More precisely, we recorded 9.5% of errors in the antepartum data, 3.2% in intrapartum or postpartum events and 5.8% in the newborn information.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that medical data used for scientific projects and recorded in the delivery logbook, have to be interpreted very cautiously. It seems to be reasonable that each obstetrical unit should standardize its registration of data and carry out internal audits.
Dreyfus
M
M
Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique I, Hôpital de Hautepierre, Strasbourg.
Tissier
I
I
Ndocko
M A
MA
Philippe
M
M
Ritter
J
J
D015982:Bias; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D003696:Delivery Rooms; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results