Comparison between visual and computerized cardiotocography in low risk pregnancy

Objective: To compare between visual and computerized cardiotocography (cCTG) in low-risk pregnant women in predicting pregnancy outcome. Methods: One hundred and fifty-three consecutive computerized fetal heart tracings were recorded from non-laboring pregnant women at ≥30 weeks gestation. All traces were reviewed by 2 experienced obstetricians. The study was carried out at A1-Ain Medical District, United Arab Emirates, between August 2004 and December 2004. Results: Of the 153 pregnant women, 11 (7.2%) were delivered by cesarean section. The interobserver agreement was 0.60. The observers cCTG agreement were 0.48 and 0.45. The difference in cesarean section rate was not statistically significant. Observers' interpretation and cCTG did not correlate well with Apgar score at 5 minutes and admission to special care baby unit. Conclusions: Computerized CTG has little advantage over conventional CTG in the prediction of Apgar score and need for neonatal intensive care unit admission in a low-risk population.