title: Antepartum cardiotocography: a study of fetal reactivity in frequency domain.
abstract: Cardiotocography (CTG) is the most widely used diagnostic technique in clinical practice to monitor fetal health. Cardiotocographic recording also permits to assess maturation of the fetal autonomous nervous system (ANS): fetal heart rate (FHR) modifications may reveal ANS' reactions to stimuli. To assess fetal reactivity, physicians evaluate specific clinical CTG parameters, generally, by means of visual inspection, thus depending on observer's expertise, with lack of reproducibility. Still nowadays, there is a very high intra- and inter-observer variation in the assessment of FHR patterns. More objective methods for CTG interpretation are of crucial importance. For adults, frequency analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive and powerful method to investigate ANS activity. This frequency analysis can also be a valid support for a better knowledge of fetal ANS functional state and reactions. Indeed, fetal HRV is a good indicator of fetal well-being in non-stress conditions. Fetal reactivity is a very important CTG characteristic used to diagnose fetal distress, but its interpretation is still uncertain. The aim of this study is to characterise fetal reactivity proposing new fetal HRV frequency parameters to support a more exhaustive CTG analysis.
authors: Department of Electronic Engineering & Telecommunications, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Romano
authors: Marcello
authors: M
authors: Bracale
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Cesarelli
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Campanile
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Bifulco
authors: Marianna
authors: M
authors: De Falco
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Sansone
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Di Lieto
mesh_terms: D015148:Cardiotocography; D005260:Female; D005324:Fetal Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted