Comparative study of efficacy of fetal Admission test alone and non-stress test done antenatally with fetal Admission test to evaluate fetal outcome

Aim. The current study evaluated the efficacy of fetal admission test alone and nonstress test (NST) antenatally with fetal admission test in both low and high risk pregnancy in relation to the fetal outcome in order to decrease the fetal morbidity and mortality. Methods and material. The study included 240 pregnant women after 34 weeks of pregnancy who were categorized into low and high risk groups. The fetal outcome following Antenatal NST and Admission test was studied based on Apgar score of <7 at 5 minutes, Meconium stained liquor, NICU requirement, and mortality. Result. Apgar score <7 at 5 min seen in 8 babies (13.33%), meconium stained liquor in 14(23.33%) and NICU admission in 11 (18.33%) cases in whom both antenatal NST and fetal admission tests were done together. Apgar score <7 at 5 min seen in 14 (23.33%) babies, meconium stained liquor in 18 (30%) and NICU admission in 19 (31.66%) cases in which only the admission test was done. The Antenatal NST for antenatal fetal surveillance shows 96.88% of specificity, 29.17% of sensitivity, 70% of positive predictive value (PPV) and 84.55% of negative predictive value (NPV). The admission test for intrapartum fetal distress shows 99.38% of specificity, 32.91% sensitivity, 75.12% NPV and 96.3% PPV. Both NST and fetal admission test done together significantly decreased the incidence of fetal distress as early intervention was taken to prevent further fetal compromise in high-risk pregnancies. NST strongly correlate with admission test result in high-risk pregnancies. Conclusion. NST and the fetal admission test in high risk pregnancies help with early detection of fetal distress and help with taking the necessary measures to improve fetal outcome

Analysis of fetal heart rate asymmetry before and after 35 weeks of gestation

In this study, we have investigated the evidence of fetal heart rate asymmetry and how the fetal heart rate asymmetry changes before and after 35 weeks of gestation. Noninvasive fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) signals from 45 pregnant women at the gestational age from16 to 41 weeks with normal single pregnancies were analysed. A nonlinear parameter called heart rate asymmetry (HRA) index that measures time asymmetry of RR interval time-series signal was used to understand the changes of HRA in early and late fetus groups. Results indicate that fetal HRA measured by Porta\u27s Index (PI) consistently increases after 35 weeks gestation compared to foetus before 32 weeks of gestation. It might be due to significant changes of sympatho-vagal balance towards delivery with more sympathetic surge. On the other hand, Guzik\u27s Index (GI) showed a mixed effect i.e., increases at lower lags and decreases at higher lags. Finally, fHRA could potentially help identify normal and the pathological autonomic nervous system development