OBJECTIVES: A series of 180 cases of high risk pregnancies were studied in order to assess if a nonstress test taken 24 h before delivery is of any prognostic significance. METHODS: To assess the predictability of the NST (reactive or nonreactive) in terms of fetal outcome, the following variables were taken into consideration: fetal distress during labor, low Apgar score (< 7) and perinatal mortality rate. RESULTS: A reactive test was found to be a good predictor of the healthy fetus (negative predictive value = 91.2%). Also, specificity of the test was found to be 85.4%. CONCLUSIONS: The nonreactive test could identify a population at risk but it was not helpful as a 'stand alone' modality in decision making, because of the low sensitivity and positive predictive value rates (40.9% and 28.1%, respectively).
OBJECTIVES: A series of 180 cases of high risk pregnancies were studied in order to assess if a nonstress test taken 24 h before delivery is of any prognostic significance. METHODS: To assess the predictability of the NST (reactive or nonreactive) in terms of fetal outcome, the following variables were taken into consideration: fetal distress during labor, low Apgar score (< 7) and perinatal mortality rate. RESULTS: A reactive test was found to be a good predictor of the healthy fetus (negative predictive value = 91.2%). Also, specificity of the test was found to be 85.4%. CONCLUSIONS: The nonreactive test could identify a population at risk but it was not helpful as a 'stand alone' modality in decision making, because of the low sensitivity and positive predictive value rates (40.9% and 28.1%, respectively).
Authors: Rachel A Haws; Mohammad Yawar Yakoob; Tanya Soomro; Esme V Menezes; Gary L Darmstadt; Zulfiqar A Bhutta Journal: BMC Pregnancy Childbirth Date: 2009-05-07 Impact factor: 3.007