title: Appearance of abnormal electrocorticogram patterns during umbilical cord compression in sheep fetus.
abstract: A frequent cause of fetal acidemia, which sometimes results in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, is umbilical cord compression associated with uterine contraction. Using a sheep model of fetal acidemia, we examined the changes in electrocorticogram (ECoG), carotid artery blood flow, arterial blood pressure and fetal heart rate during cord compression. A characteristic burst of ECoG spikes emerged during cord compression at fetal arterial pH 7.18 even before the pH went down to severe fetal acidemia (less than 7.10). The administration of a neuromuscular blocking agent to the fetus did not abolish the appearance of the spikes. These results suggest that cord compression may cause abnormal brain excitement even in the absence of severe fetal acidemia and that this abnormal excitement can lead to fetal brain dysfunction, if cord compression is repeated or prolonged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chisaka
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamura
mesh_terms: D000138:Acidosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005311:Fetal Hypoxia; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000473:pathology*