Cardiotocography in fetal heart arrhythmia – analysis of cases

Abstract

Summary Cardiotocography (CTG) is routinely used in obstetric units to monitor fetal well-being during pregnancy and labor. Nevertheless the use of CTG is limited in cases of fetal arrhythmia, because it truncates the FHR if faster than 210 bpm and slower than 50 bpm. In fetal arrhythmias, with the heart rate between 50 bpm and 210 bpm, CTG may be nonconclusive, difficult to interpret and should not be taken into consideration when making the decision to end the pregnancy, especially when it is premature. Until now the usefulness of CTG in the fetal arrhythmia has not been sufficiently described. The following study evaluates typical cases of fetal arrhythmia diagnosed by fetal echocardiography with corresponding cardiotocography and reviews the decision that had been made in each case.