Intrapartales Kardiotokogramm

Abstract

The cardiotocogram (CTG) was introduced in the 1960s and is nowadays the most frequently used obstetric measure during birth. The concept to non-invasively control the well-being of a fetus during the birth and to recognize a threatening asphyxia in a timely manner, is ingenious but has, however, not been confirmed in randomized studies. The sensitivity of the CTG is very high with 99% but the specificity of 77% is low. The high rate of false positive findings led in particular to an increase in the rate of cesarean sections, without significantly reducing the rate of cerebral palsy. The reasons are the large interobserver variability and the heterogeneity of individual at risk collectives. In the new guidelines from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) the terms are uniformly defined and recommendations for direct action are given. Additional measures, such as microblood investigation or head stimulation can provide further information on the fetal reserves during birth.