CTG and fetal survelliance during labour

So think of causes of cord compression to find out why variable deceleration?

Fetal survelllance during labour

Freuency of pv exams to check for partogram filling ⇒ 4 hours and then 2 hours active

Frequncy of filling maternal contractions - every half hour

frequency of auscultation 1 to 30 min or 5 min or after every contraction

Scalp stimulation ⇒ stimulate the scalp to stimulate heart rate

Scalp blood sampling ⇒ to check for hypoxia associated with acidosis

Scalp electrodes to check oximeter.

Fetal scalp blood sampling is done in the UK

OSCE guide

How to Read a CTG

geekymedics.com/how-to-read-a-ctg/

Dr Lewis Potter

What is cardiotocography?

Cardiotocography (CTG) is used during pregnancy to monitor fetal heart rate and uterine contractions. It is most commonly used in the third trimester and its purpose is to monitor fetal well-being and allow early detection of fetal distress. An abnormal CTG may indicate the need for further investigations and potential intervention.

Check out our CTG quiz on the Geeky Medics quiz platform to put your CTG interpretation knowledge to the test.

How CTG works

The device used in cardiotocography is known as a cardiotocograph. It involves the placement of two transducers onto the abdomen of a pregnant woman. One transducer records the fetal heart rate using ultrasound and the other transducer monitors the contractions of the uterus by measuring the tension of the maternal abdominal wall (providing an indirect indication of intrauterine pressure). The CTG is then assessed by a midwife and the obstetric medical team.

How to read a CTG

To interpret a CTG you need a structured method of assessing its various characteristics. The most popular structure can be remembered using the acronym DR C BRAVADO:

DR: Define risk

C: Contractions

BRa: Baseline rate

V: Variability

A: Accelerations

D: Decelerations

O: Overall impression

Define risk

When performing CTG interpretation, you first need to determine if the pregnancy is high or low risk. This is important as it gives more context to the CTG reading (e.g. if the pregnancy categorised as high-risk, the threshold for intervention may be lower). Some reasons a pregnancy may be considered high risk are shown below.1

Maternal medical illness

Gestational diabetes

Hypertension

Asthma

Obstetric complications

Multiple gestation

Post-date gestation

Previous cesarean section

Intrauterine growth restriction

Premature rupture of membranes

Congenital malformations

Oxytocin induction/augmentation of labour

Pre-eclampsia

Other risk factors

Absence of prenatal care

Smoking

Drug abuse

Contractions

Next, you need to record the number of contractions present in a 10 minute period.

Each big square on the example CTG chart below is equal to one minute, so look at how many contractions occurred within 10 big squares.

Individual contractions are seen as peaks on the part of the CTG monitoring uterine activity.

Assess contractions for the following:

Duration: How long do the contractions last?

Intensity: How strong are the contractions (assessed using palpation)?

In the below example, there are 2 contractions in a 10 minute period (this is often referred to as “2 in 10”).

CTG Uterine Contractions

Baseline rate of the fetal heart

The baseline rate is the average heart rate of the fetus within a 10-minute window.

Look at the CTG and assess what the average heart rate has been over the last 10 minutes, ignoring any accelerations or decelerations.

A normal fetal heart rate is between 110-160 bpm.

CTG: Baseline heart rate

Fetal tachycardia

Fetal tachycardia is defined as a baseline heart rate greater than 160 bpm.

Causes of fetal tachycardia include:

Fetal hypoxia

Chorioamnionitis

Hyperthyroidism

Fetal or maternal anaemia

Fetal tachyarrhythmia

Fetal bradycardia

Fetal bradycardia is defined as a baseline heart rate of less than 100 bpm.

It is common to have a baseline heart rate of between 100-120 bpm in the following situations:

Postdate gestation

Occiput posterior or transverse presentations

Severe prolonged bradycardia (less than 80 bpm for more than 3 minutes) indicates severe hypoxia.

Causes of prolonged severe bradycardia include:

Prolonged cord compression

Cord prolapse

Epidural and spinal anaesthesia

Maternal seizures

Rapid fetal descent

Variability

Baseline variability refers to the variation of fetal heart rate from one beat to the next.

Variability occurs as a result of the interaction between the nervous system, chemoreceptors, baroreceptors and cardiac responsiveness.

It is, therefore, a good indicator of how healthy a fetus is at that particular moment in time, as a healthy fetus will constantly be adapting its heart rate in response to changes in its environment.

Normal variability indicates an intact neurological system in the fetus.

Normal variability is between 5-25 bpm.3

To calculate variability you need to assess how much the peaks and troughs of the heart rate deviate from the baseline rate (in bpm).

Variability categorisation

Variability can be categorised as either reassuring, non-reassuring or abnormal. 3

Reassuring: 5 – 25 bpm

Non-reassuring:

less than 5 bpm for between 30-50 minutes

more than 25 bpm for 15-25 minutes

Abnormal:

less than 5 bpm for more than 50 minutes

more than 25 bpm for more than 25 minutes

sinusoidal

CTG: Variability

Reduced variability can be caused by any of the following:2

Fetal sleeping: this should last no longer than 40 minutes (this is the most common cause)

Fetal acidosis (due to hypoxia): more likely if late decelerations are also present

Fetal tachycardia

Drugs: opiates, benzodiazepines, methyldopa and magnesium sulphate

Prematurity: variability is reduced at earlier gestation (<28 weeks)

Congenital heart abnormalities

CTG: Reduced variability

Accelerations

Accelerations are an abrupt increase in the baseline fetal heart rate of greater than 15 bpm for greater than 15 seconds.1

The presence of accelerations is reassuring.

Accelerations occurring alongside uterine contractions is a sign of a healthy fetus.

The absence of accelerations with an otherwise normal CTG is of uncertain significance.

CTG: Accelerations

Decelerations

Decelerations are an abrupt decrease in the baseline fetal heart rate of greater than 15 bpm for greater than 15 seconds.

The fetal heart rate is controlled by the autonomic and somatic nervous system. In response to hypoxic stress, the fetus reduces its heart rate to preserve myocardial oxygenation and perfusion. Unlike an adult, a fetus cannot increase its respiration depth and rate. This reduction in heart rate to reduce myocardial demand is referred to as a deceleration.

There are a number of different types of decelerations, each with varying significance.

Early deceleration

Early decelerations start when the uterine contraction begins and recover when uterine contraction stops. This is due to increased fetal intracranial pressure causing increased vagal tone. It therefore quickly resolves once the uterine contraction ends and intracranial pressure reduces. This type of deceleration is, therefore, considered to be physiological and not pathological.3

CTG: Early decelerations

Variable deceleration

Variable decelerations are observed as a rapid fall in baseline fetal heart rate with a variable recovery phase.

They are variable in their duration and may not have any relationship to uterine contractions.

They are most often seen during labour and in patients’ with reduced amniotic fluid volume.

All fetuses experience stress during the labour process, as a result of uterine contractions reducing fetal perfusion. Whilst fetal stress is to be expected during labour, the challenge is to pick up pathological fetal distress.

Variable decelerations are usually caused by umbilical cord compression. The mechanism is as follows:1

1. The umbilical vein is often occluded first causing an acceleration of the fetal heart rate in response.

2. Then the umbilical artery is occluded causing a subsequent rapid deceleration.

3. When pressure on the cord is reduced another acceleration occurs and then the baseline rate returns.

The accelerations before and after a variable deceleration are known as the shoulders of deceleration. Their presence indicates the fetus is not yet hypoxic and is adapting to the reduced blood flow. Variable decelerations can sometimes resolve if the mother changes position. The presence of persistent variable decelerations indicates the need for close monitoring. Variable decelerations without the shoulders are more worrying, as it suggests the fetus is becoming hypoxic.

CTG: Variable decelerations

Late deceleration

Late decelerations begin at the peak of the uterine contraction and recover after the contraction ends. This type of deceleration indicates there is insufficient blood flow to the uterus and placenta. As a result, blood flow to the fetus is significantly reduced causing fetal hypoxia and acidosis.

Reduced uteroplacental blood flow can occur due to:1

Maternal hypotension

Pre-eclampsia

Uterine hyperstimulation

CTG: Late decelerations

Prolonged deceleration

A prolonged deceleration is defined as a deceleration that lasts more than 3 minutes:

If it lasts between 2-3 minutes it is classed as non-reassuring.

If it lasts longer than 3 minutes it is immediately classed as abnormal.

CTG: Prolonged deceleration

Sinusoidal pattern

A sinusoidal CTG pattern is rare, however, if present it is very concerning as it is associated with high rates of fetal morbidity and mortality.1

A sinusoidal CTG pattern has the following characteristics:

A smooth, regular, wave-like pattern

Frequency of around 2-5 cycles a minute

Stable baseline rate around 120-160bpm

No beat to beat variability

A sinusoidal pattern usually indicates one or more of the following:

Severe fetal hypoxia

Severe fetal anaemia

Fetal/maternal haemorrhage

CTG: Sinusoidal pattern

Overall impression

Once you have assessed all aspects of the CTG you need to determine your overall impression.

The overall impression can be described as either reassuring, suspicious or abnormal.3

Overall impression is determined by how many of the CTG features were either reassuring, non-reassuring or abnormal. The NICE guidelines below demonstrate how to decide which category a CTG falls into.3

Reassuring

Baseline heart rate

110 to 160 bpm

Baseline variability

5 to 25 bpm