title: Intrapartum heart rate ambiguity: a comparison of cardiotocogram and abdominal fetal electrocardiogram with maternal electrocardiogram.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the presence of signal ambiguity of intrapartum fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring during delivery by comparing simultaneous cardiotocogram (CTG), abdominal fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) with continuous maternal ECG.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 144 simultaneous CTG (Corometrics 250 series), abdominal fetal ECG (Monica -AN24™) and maternal ECG (Monica AN24™) recordings were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  When the FHR is within 5 bpm of the maternal heart rate (MHR) acquired from the ECG, it is classified as 'MHR/FHR ambiguity'. Statistical analyses were performed with Fisher's exact test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparison of abdominal fetal ECG against CTG demonstrates significantly less 'MHR/FHR ambiguity' in both the first stage (mean 0.70 vs. 1.22%, p < 0.001) and second stage of labour (mean 3.30 vs. 6.20%, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intrapartum FHR monitoring in daily practice via the CTG modality provides significantly more 'MHR/FHR ambiguity' than abdominal fetal ECG, which also provides additional information on the MHR.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. j.reinhard@katharina-kasper.de
authors: Joscha
authors: J
authors: Reinhard
authors: Barrie R
authors: BR
authors: Hayes-Gill
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Schiermeier
authors: Hendrike
authors: H
authors: Hatzmann
authors: Tomas M
authors: TM
authors: Heinrich
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Louwen
mesh_terms: D015148:Cardiotocography / Q000592:standards*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results