Individual Patient Factors Associated with the Use of Physical or Digital Primary Care in Sweden.

Introduction: Little is known about factors that influence patients' choice to use physical or digital primary care. This study aimed to compare self-rated health, internet habits, and what patients deem important when choosing health care between users of physical and digital primary health care. Methods: We recruited 2,716 adults visiting one of six physical or four digital primary health care providers in Stockholm, Sweden, October 2020 to May 2021. Participants answered a questionnaire with questions about sociodemography, self-rated health, internet habits, and what they considered important when seeking care. We used logistic regression and estimated odds ratios (ORs) for choosing digital care. Results: Digital users considered themselves healthier and used the internet more, compared with physical users (p < 0.001). Competence of health care staff was the most important factor when seeking care to both physical and digital users (90% and 78%, respectively). Patients considering it important to avoid leaving home were more likely to seek digital care (OR 29.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 12.65-69.06), while patients valuing continuity were more likely to seek physical care (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.19-0.32). These factors were significant also when adjusting for self-rated health and sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion: What patients considered important when seeking health care was associated with what type of care they sought. Patient preferences should be considered when planning health care to optimize resource allocation.

How can technology support quality improvement? Lessons learned from the adoption of an analytics tool for advanced performance measurement in a hospital unit.

BACKGROUND: Technology for timely feedback of data has the potential to support quality improvement (QI) in health care. However, such technology may pose difficulties stemming from the complex interaction with the setting in which it is implemented. To enable professionals to use data in QI there is a need to better understand of how to handle this complexity. This study aims to explore factors that influence the adoption of a technology-supported QI programme in an obstetric unit through a complexity informed framework. METHODS: This qualitative study, based on focus group interviews, was conducted at a Swedish university hospital's obstetric unit, which used an analytics tool for advanced performance measurement that gave timely and case mix adjusted feedback of performance data to support QI. Data was collected through three focus group interviews conducted with 16 managers and staff. The Nonadoption, Abandonment, Scale-up, Spread, and Sustainability (NASSS) framework guided the data collection and analysis. RESULTS: Staff and managers deemed the technology to effectively support ongoing QI efforts by providing timely access to reliable data. The value of the technology was associated with a clear need to make better use of existing data in QI. The data and the methodology in the analytics tool reflected the complexity of the clinical conditions treated but was presented through an interface that was easy to access and user friendly. However, prior understanding of statistics was helpful to be able to fully grasp the presented data. The tool was adapted to the needs and the organizational conditions of the local setting through a collaborative approach between the technology supplier and the adopters. CONCLUSIONS: Technology has the potential to enable systematic QI through motivating professionals by providing timely and adequate feedback of performance. The adoption of such technology is complex and requires openness for gradual learning and improvement.

Exploring staff experience of economic efficiency requirements in health care: A mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: Economic resources are limited in health care, and governance strategies are used to push provider organizations to use resources efficiently. Although studies show that hybrid managers are successful in reconciling economic efficiency requirements with professional values to meet patient needs, surprisingly few studies focus on staff. The aim of this study is to explore staff members' experience of economic efficiency requirements. METHODS: A mixed method design was applied, targeting multi-professional staff in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in a Swedish university hospital. Survey data was collected (n = 93), followed by focus-group interviews to support the understanding of the quantitative findings. FINDINGS: The findings show that health care staff is knowledgeable and intrinsically motivated to consider efficiency requirements, albeit it should not dominate clinical decisions. However, staff experiences little influence over resource allocation and identifies limitations in the system's abilities to meet patient needs. Staff experience incorporates a local unit and a system perspective. CONCLUSION: Staff members are aware of economic efficiency requirements and will behave accordingly if patients are not at risk. However, their engagement seems to rely on how economic efficiency requirements are handled at multiple system levels and their trust in the system to fairly support patient needs.

Fetal electrocardiography ST-segment analysis for intrapartum monitoring: a critical appraisal of conflicting evidence and a way forward.

BACKGROUND: In the past century, some areas of obstetric including intrapartum care have been slow to benefit from the dramatic advances in technology and medical care. Although fetal heart rate monitoring (cardiotocography) became available a half century ago, its interpretation often differs between institutions and countries, its diagnostic accuracy needs improvement, and a technology to help reduce the unnecessary obstetric interventions that have accompanied the cardiotocography is urgently needed. STUDY DESIGN: During the second half of the 20th century, key findings in animal experiments captured the close relationship between myocardial glycogenolysis, myocardial workload, and ST changes, thus demonstrating that ST waveform analysis of the fetal electrocardiogram can provide information on oxygenation of the fetal myocardium and establishing the physiological basis for the use of electrocardiogram in intrapartum fetal surveillance. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials, 10 meta-analyses, and more than 20 observational studies have evaluated the technology developed based on this principle. Nonetheless, despite this intensive assessment, differences in study protocols, inclusion criteria, enrollment rates, clinical guidelines, use of fetal blood sampling, and definitions of key outcome parameters, as well as inconsistencies in randomized controlled trial data handling and statistical methodology, have made this voluminous evidence difficult to interpret. Enormous resources spent on randomized controlled trials have failed to guarantee the generalizability of their results to other settings or their ability to reflect everyday clinical practice. CONCLUSION: The latest meta-analysis used revised data from primary randomized controlled trials and data from the largest randomized controlled trials from the United States to demonstrate a significant reduction of metabolic acidosis rates by 36% (odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.88) and operative vaginal delivery rates by 8% (relative risk, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.99), compared with cardiotocography alone.

Inter-hospital variations in health outcomes in childbirth care in Sweden: a register-based study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate case mix adjusted variations in central indicators of health outcomes in childbirth care and to assess whether hospitals who perform well on one indicator also perform well on others. DESIGN: Register-based study using regional administrative data, linked to clinical data and population data. SETTING: Twenty-one hospitals in seven Swedish regions covering 67% of deliveries in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 139 756 women who gave birth in 2011 and 2012. INTERVENTION(S): N/A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Four indicators of health outcomes were studied: obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS), haemorrhage >1000 ml, postpartum infection and Apgar <4 at 5 min. Variations between hospitals were estimated using fixed effects logistic regression, adjusted for numerous sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Significant variations after case mix adjustment were observed for all four indicators. If all hospitals had performed as the average of the top five hospitals for each indicator, a total of 890 OASIS, 2700 haemorrhages, 1500 postpartum infections and 180 instances of low Apgar would have been avoided. A certain degree of correlation was observed between different indicators of outcomes. However, no hospital had a statistically significant higher or lower rate across all four indicators of health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The significant variations in all four indicators demonstrate a potential for improvement in performance at all studied hospitals. Hospital performance was not consistent across different indicators of outcomes and all hospitals have potential for improvement in certain aspects of labour management.

The development and validation of a scale to explore staff experience of governance of economic efficiency and quality (GOV-EQ) of health care.

BACKGROUND: In publicly funded health care systems, governance models are developed to push public service providers to use tax payers' money more efficiently and maintain a high quality of service. Although this implies change in staff behaviors, evaluation studies commonly focus on organizational outputs. Unintended consequences for staff have been observed in case studies, but theoretical and methodological development is necessary to enable studies of staff experience in larger populations across various settings. The aim of the study is to develop a self-assessment scale of staff experience of the governance of economic efficiency and quality of health care and to assess its psychometric properties. METHODS: Factors relevant to staff members' experience of economic efficiency and quality requirements of health care were identified in the literature and through interviews with practitioners, and then compared to a theoretical model of behavior change. Relevant experiences were developed into sub-factors and items. The scale was tested in collaboration with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at a university hospital. 93 staff members participated. The scale's psychometric properties were assessed using exploratory factor analysis, analysis of internal consistency and criterion-related validity. RESULTS: The analysis revealed an eight factor structure (including sub-factors knowledge and awareness, opportunity to influence, motivation, impact on professional autonomy and organizational alignment), and items showed strong factor loadings and high internal consistency within sub-factors. Sub-factors were interrelated and contributed to the prediction of impact on clinical behavior (criterion). CONCLUSIONS: The scale clearly distinguishes between various experiences regarding economic efficiency and quality requirements among health care staff, and shows satisfactory psychometric quality. The scale has broad applications for research and practice, as it serves as a tool for capturing staff members' perspectives when evaluating and improving health care governance. The scale could also be useful for understanding the underlying processes of changes in provider performance and for adapting management strategies to engage staff in driving change that contributes to increased economic efficiency and quality, for the benefit of health care systems, patients and staff.

Standardized outcome measures for pregnancy and childbirth, an ICHOM proposal.

BACKGROUND: Value-based health care aims to optimize the balance of patient outcomes and health care costs. To improve value in perinatal care using this strategy, standard outcomes must first be defined. The objective of this work was to define a minimum, internationally appropriate set of outcome measures for evaluating and improving perinatal care with a focus on outcomes that matter to women and their families. METHODS: An interdisciplinary and international Working Group was assembled. Existing literature and current measurement initiatives were reviewed. Serial guided discussions and validation surveys provided consumer input. A series of nine teleconferences, incorporating a modified Delphi process, were held to reach consensus on the proposed Standard Set. RESULTS: The Working Group selected 24 outcome measures to evaluate care during pregnancy and up to 6 months postpartum. These include clinical outcomes such as maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, stillbirth, preterm birth, birth injury and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mental health, mother-infant bonding, confidence and success with breastfeeding, incontinence, and satisfaction with care and birth experience. To support analysis of these outcome measures, pertinent baseline characteristics and risk factor metrics were also defined. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a set of outcome measures for evaluating the care that women and infants receive during pregnancy and the postpartum period. While validation and refinement via pilot implementation projects are needed, we view this as an important initial step towards value-based improvements in care.

Value-Based Reimbursement in Collectively Financed Healthcare Requires Monitoring of Socioeconomic Patient Data to Maintain Equality in Service Provision.

Value-based purchasing is increasingly discussed in association with efforts to develop modern healthcare systems. These models are the most recent example of models derived from health economics research intended to reform collectively financed healthcare. Previous examples have ranged from creation of pseudo-markets to opening these markets for competition between publicly and privately owned enterprises. Most value-based purchasing models tend to ignore that health service provision in collectively financed settings is based on an insurance with political, social obligations attached that challenge the notion of free market and individualist premises which these models rest on. Central social issues related to healthcare in any modern complex society, such as inequality in service provision, can all too easily "disappear" in value-based reform efforts. Based on an analysis of Swedish policy development, we contend that management information systems need to be extended to allow routine monitoring of socioeconomic data when models such as value-based purchasing are introduced in collectively financed health services. The experiences from Sweden are important for health policy in Europe and other regions with collectively financed healthcare plans.

[Leaders as intermediates between economic incentive models and professional motivation]. / Ledaren ­ viktig länk mellan styrmodell och medarbetare - Olika strategier för att förena ekonomiska krav med vårdpersonalens drivkraft att ge god vård.

The application of economic incentives to providers in health care governance is debated. Advocates argue that it drives efficiency and improvement, opponents claim that it leads to unintended consequences for patients and professionals. Research shows that incentives can increase well-defined activities and targets, but there is a lack of substantial evidence that applications in health care lead to desired outcomes. The motivational literature acknowledges internal sources of motivation as important determinants of behavior, and the literature about professions suggests that professional values of serving patient needs is a key motivator. The management literature identifies the important role of leaders in aligning external demands and rewards to staff preferences, using their own management and leadership skills. Findings in health services research confirm the vital role of leaders for successful implementation and improvement work. In sum, internal motivators and the role of leaders are important to acknowledge also when understanding how economic governance models are put into practice.Our recently published qualitative case study provides empirical examples of how clinical leaders function as intermediaries between a local care choice model, including financial incentives, and the motivation of staff. The strategies deployed by the leaders aimed to align the economic logics of the model to the professional focus on increasing patient value. The main conclusion from these empirical examples, as well as previous research, is that health care managers play a key role in aligning economic incentive models with professional values and in translating such models in to feasible tasks related to the provision of high quality care.

Neonatal delivery weight and risk of future maternal diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between neonatal delivery weight and future risk of maternal type 1 or type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Data included in the Swedish Medical Birth Registry and Swedish National Diabetes Registry were merged to include all women born during 1930-1989; patients with pre-existing diabetes or gestational diabetes were excluded. Cox regression analyses were performed to identify associations between the neonatal delivery weight from the most recent pregnancy and later occurrence of diabetes. RESULTS: There were 1 873 440 patients included in the analyses. An increased risk of type 1 (hazard ratio 3.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.23-4.01) or type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 2.77, 95% CI 2.68-2.87) was observed among patients who had a large for gestational age neonate compared with patients who had neonates within one standard definition of the mean weight for gestational age; the odds of developing type 1 (odds ratio 10.27, 95% CI 7.37-14.31) or type 2 diabetes (odds ratio 8.50, 95% CI 6.01-12.02) within 1 year of delivery was also increased compared with patients who had a neonate within one standard deviation of the mean weight for gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: Delivering a large for gestational age neonate was a potent risk factor for the later development of maternal type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Professionals' perspectives on a market-inspired policy reform: A guiding light to the blind spots of measurement.

Implementation of market-inspired competition and incentive models in health care is increasing worldwide, assumed to drive efficiency. However, the evidence for effects is mixed and unintended consequences have been reported. There is a need to better understand the practical consequences of such reforms. The aim of the present case study is to explore what consequences of a Swedish market-inspired patient choice reform professionals identify as relevant, and why. The study was designed as an explorative qualitative study in specialized orthopedics. Nineteen interviews were conducted with health care professionals at different providers. Data were analyzed using a hypo-deductive thematic approach. Consequences for the organization of care, patients, work environment, education and research were included in the professionals' analyses, covering both the perspective of their own organization and that of the health care system as a whole. In sum, the professionals provided multiple-level analyses that extended beyond the responsibilities of their own organization. Concluding, professionals are a valuable source of knowledge when evaluating policy reforms. Their analyses can contribute by covering a broad system perspective, serving as a guiding light to areas beyond the most obvious evaluation measures that should be included in more formal evaluations.

Managerial strategies to make incentives meaningful and motivating.

Purpose Policy makers are applying market-inspired competition and financial incentives to drive efficiency in healthcare. However, a lack of knowledge exists about the process whereby incentives are filtered through organizations to influence staff motivation, and the key role of managers is often overlooked. The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategies managers use as intermediaries between financial incentives and the individual motivation of staff. The authors use empirical data from a local case in Swedish specialized care. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an exploratory qualitative case study of a patient-choice reform, including financial incentives, in specialized orthopedics in Sweden. In total, 17 interviews were conducted with professionals in managerial positions, representing six healthcare providers. A hypo-deductive, thematic approach was used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that managers applied alignment strategies to make the incentive model motivating for staff. The managers' strategies are characterized by attempts to align external rewards with professional values based on their contextual and practical knowledge. Managers occasionally overruled the financial logic of the model to safeguard patient needs and expressed an interest in having a closer dialogue with policy makers about improvements. Originality/value Externally imposed incentives do not automatically motivate healthcare staff. Managers in healthcare play key roles as intermediaries by aligning external rewards with professional values. Managers' multiple perspectives on healthcare practices and professional culture can also be utilized to improve policy and as a source of knowledge in partnership with policy makers.

The electrical heart axis and ST events in fetal monitoring: A post-hoc analysis following a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Reducing perinatal morbidity and mortality is one of the major challenges in modern health care. Analysing the ST segment of the fetal electrocardiogram was thought to be the breakthrough in fetal monitoring during labour. However, its implementation in clinical practice yields many false alarms and ST monitoring is highly dependent on cardiotocogram assessment, limiting its value for the prediction of fetal distress during labour. This study aims to evaluate the relation between physiological variations in the orientation of the fetal electrical heart axis and the occurrence of ST events. METHODS: A post-hoc analysis was performed following a multicentre randomised controlled trial, including 1097 patients from two participating centres. All women were monitored with ST analysis during labour. Cases of fetal metabolic acidosis, poor signal quality, missing blood gas analysis, and congenital heart disease were excluded. The orientation of the fetal electrical heart axis affects the height of the initial T/QRS baseline, and therefore the incidence of ST events. We grouped tracings with the same initial baseline T/QRS value. We depicted the number of ST events as a function of the initial baseline T/QRS value with a linear regression model. RESULTS: A significant increment of ST events was observed with increasing height of the initial T/QRS baseline, irrespective of the fetal condition; correlation coefficient 0.63, p<0.001. The most frequent T/QRS baseline is 0.12. CONCLUSION: The orientation of the fetal electrical heart axis and accordingly the height of the initial T/QRS baseline should be taken into account in fetal monitoring with ST analysis.

Case mix adjusted variation in cesarean section rate in Sweden.

INTRODUCTION: Cesarean section (CS) rate is a well-established indicator of performance in maternity care and is also related to resource use. Case mix adjustment of CS rates when performing comparisons between hospitals is important. The objective of this study was to estimate case mix adjusted variation in CS rate between hospitals in Sweden. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In total, 139 756 deliveries in 2011 and 2012 were identified in administrative systems in seven regions covering 67% of all deliveries in Sweden. Data were linked to the Medical birth register and population data. Twenty-three different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were used for adjustment. Analyses were performed for the entire study population as well as for two subgroups. Logistic regression was used to analyze differences between hospitals. RESULTS: The overall CS rate was 16.9% (hospital minimum-maximum 12.1-22.6%). Significant variations in CS rate between hospitals were observed after case mix adjustment: hospital odds ratios for CS varied from 0.62 (95% CI 0.53-0.73) to 1.45 (95% CI 1.37-1.52). In nulliparous, cephalic, full-term, singletons the overall CS rate was 14.3% (hospital minimum-maximum: 9.0-19.0%), whereas it was 4.7% for multiparous, cephalic, full-term, singletons with no previous CS (hospital minimum-maximum: 3.2-6.7%). In both subgroups significant variations were observed in case mix adjusted CS rates. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in CS rate between Swedish hospitals were found after adjusting for differences in case mix. This indicates a potential for fewer interventions and lower resource use in Swedish childbirth care. Best practice sharing and continuous monitoring are important tools for improving childbirth care.

Why STAN might not be dead.

Recently, a meta-analysis, including 26 526 laboring vertex singletons at term, summarized all available level-1 data from six high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on the use of ST analysis (STAN) during labor as an adjunct to conventional intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring. The meta-analysis showed that STAN did not improve perinatal outcomes or decrease cesarean deliveries. Nonetheless, there are still reasons to believe STAN may have a role in the future research on intrapartum fetal monitoring. Out of six trials included in the meta-analysis, two included all cephalic singletons in labor, and four enrolled only high-risk pregnant women. This combination of both low- and high-risk populations may have distorted the potential impact of STAN. The test for heterogeneity between both subgroups was found to be statistically significant, indicating that the effect of STAN was different in high-risk women compared to a combination of both low- and high-risk women. Furthermore, the classifications of the fetal heart rate patterns used in the included randomized trials were different. Last but not least, despite >26 000 women with singleton gestations were included in the meta-analysis, the evidence still suffers from a lack of power, especially for subgroup analyses. In summary, while the level-1 data so far indicate overall no perinatal benefit of adding STAN to conventional intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring for the outcomes most of interest, several issues point to the fact that more research is needed before the STAN technology can be deemed of no value for fetal monitoring in labor.

Understanding healthcare innovation systems: the Stockholm region case.

Purpose There is an increasing interest in understanding how innovation processes can address current challenges in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the wider socio-economic context and conditions for such innovation processes in the Stockholm region, using the functional dynamics approach to innovation systems (ISs). Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on triangulation using data from 16 in-depth interviews, two workshops, and additional documents. Using the functional dynamics approach, critical structural and functional components of the healthcare IS were analyzed. Findings The analysis revealed several mechanisms blocking innovation processes such as fragmentation, lack of clear leadership, as well as insufficient involvement of patients and healthcare professionals. Furthermore, innovation is expected to occur linearly as a result of research. Restrictive rules for collaboration with industry, reimbursement, and procurement mechanisms limit entrepreneurial experimentation, commercialization, and spread of innovations. Research limitations/implications In this study, the authors analyzed how certain functions of the functional dynamics approach to ISs related to each other. The authors grouped knowledge creation, resource mobilization, and legitimacy as they jointly constitute conditions for needs articulation and entrepreneurial experimentation. The economic effects of entrepreneurial experimentation and needs articulation are mainly determined by the stage of market formation and existence of positive externalities. Social implications Stronger user involvement; a joint innovation strategy for healthcare, academia, and industry; and institutional reform are necessary to remove blocking mechanisms that today prevent innovation from occurring. Originality/value This study is the first to provide an analysis of the system of innovation in healthcare using a functional dynamics approach, which has evolved as a tool for public policy making. A better understanding of ISs in general, and in healthcare in particular, may provide the basis for designing and evaluating innovation policy.

Case mix adjustment of health outcomes, resource use and process indicators in childbirth care: a register-based study.

BACKGROUND: Unwarranted variation in care practice and outcomes has gained attention and inter-hospital comparisons are increasingly being used to highlight and understand differences between hospitals. Adjustment for case mix is a prerequisite for meaningful comparisons between hospitals with different patient populations. The objective of this study was to identify and quantify maternal characteristics that impact a set of important indicators of health outcomes, resource use and care process and which could be used for case mix adjustment of comparisons between hospitals. METHODS: In this register-based study, 139 756 deliveries in 2011 and 2012 were identified in regional administrative systems from seven Swedish regions, which together cover 67 % of all deliveries in Sweden. Data were linked to the Medical birth register and Statistics Sweden's population data. A number of important indicators in childbirth care were studied: Caesarean section (CS), induction of labour, length of stay, perineal tears, haemorrhage > 1000 ml and post-partum infections. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics deemed relevant for case mix adjustment of outcomes and resource use were identified based on previous literature and based on clinical expertise. Adjustment using logistic and ordinary least squares regression analysis was performed to quantify the impact of these characteristics on the studied indicators. RESULTS: Almost all case mix factors analysed had an impact on CS rate, induction rate and length of stay and the effect was highly statistically significant for most factors. Maternal age, parity, fetal presentation and multiple birth were strong predictors of all these indicators but a number of additional factors such as born outside the EU, body mass index (BMI) and several complications during pregnancy were also important risk factors. A number of maternal characteristics had a noticeable impact on risk of perineal tears, while the impact of case mix factors was less pronounced for risk of haemorrhage > 1000 ml and post-partum infections. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal characteristics have a large impact on care process, resource use and outcomes in childbirth care. For meaningful comparisons between hospitals and benchmarking, a broad spectrum of sociodemographic and clinical maternal characteristics should be accounted for.

Can Intrapartum Cardiotocography Predict Uterine Rupture among Women with Prior Caesarean Delivery?: A Population Based Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare cardiotocographic abnormalities recorded during labour in women with prior caesarean delivery (CD) and complete uterine rupture with those recorded in controls with prior CD without uterine rupture. STUDY DESIGN: Women with complete uterine rupture during labour between 1997 and 2008 were identified in the Danish Medical Birth Registry (n = 181). Cases were validated by review of medical records and 53 cases with prior CD, trial of labour, available cardiotocogram (CTG) and complete uterine rupture were included and compared with 43 controls with prior CD, trial of labour and available CTG. The CTG tracings were assessed by 19 independent experts divided into groups of three different experts for each tracing. The assessors were blinded to group, outcome and clinical data. They analyzed occurrence of defined abnormalities and classified the traces as normal, suspicious, pathological or pre-terminal according to international guidelines (FIGO). RESULTS: A pathological CTG during the first stage of labour was present in 77% of cases and in 53% of the controls (OR 2.58 [CI: 0.96-6.94] P = 0.066). Fetal tachycardia was more frequent in cases with uterine rupture (OR 2.50 [CI: 1.0-6.26] P = 0.053). Significantly more cases showed more than 10 severe variable decelerations compared with controls (OR 22 [CI: 1.54-314.2] P = 0.022). Uterine tachysystole was not correlated with the presence of uterine rupture. CONCLUSION: A pathological cardiotocogram should lead to particular attention on threatening uterine rupture but cannot be considered a strong predictor as it is common in all women with trial of labour after caesarean delivery.

Combined cardiotocographic and ST event analysis: A review.

ST-analysis of the fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) (STAN(®)) combined with cardiotocography (CTG) for intrapartum fetal monitoring has been developed following many years of animal research. Changes in the ST-segment of the fetal ECG correlated with fetal hypoxia occurring during labor. In 1993 the first randomized controlled trial (RCT), comparing CTG with CTG + ST-analysis was published. STAN(®) was introduced for daily practice in 2000. To date, six RCTs have been performed, out of which five have been published. Furthermore, there are six published meta-analyses. The meta-analyses showed that CTG + ST-analysis reduced the risks of vaginal operative delivery by about 10% and fetal blood sampling by 40%. There are conflicting results regarding the effect on metabolic acidosis, much because of controveries about which RCTs should be included in a meta-analysis, and because of differences in methodology, execution and quality of the meta-analyses. Several cohort studies have been published, some showing significant decrease of metabolic acidosis after the introduction of ST-analysis. In this review, we discuss not only the scientific evidence from the RCTs and meta-analyses, but also the limitations of these studies. In conclusion, ST-analysis is effective in reducing operative vaginal deliveries and fetal blood sampling but the effect on neonatal metabolic acidosis is still under debate. Further research is needed to determine the place of ST-analysis in the labor ward for daily practice.

Electrocardiogram ST Analysis During Labor: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of cardiotocography plus ST analysis with cardiotocography alone during labor. DATA SOURCES: Randomized controlled trials were identified by searching electronic databases. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: We included all randomized controlled trials comparing intrapartum fetal monitoring with cardiotocography plus ST analysis with cardiotocography alone. The primary outcome (ie, perinatal composite outcome) was a composite of intrapartum fetal death, neonatal death, Apgar score 3 or less at 5 minutes, neonatal seizure, metabolic acidosis (defined as umbilical arterial pH 7.05 or less, and extracellular fluid base deficit 12 mmol/L or greater), intubation for ventilation at delivery, or neonatal encephalopathy. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials, which included 26,529 laboring singletons with cephalic presentation at term, were analyzed. Compared with women who were randomized to cardiotocography, those who were randomized to ST analysis and cardiotocography had a similar incidence of perinatal composite outcome (1.5% compared with 1.6%; relative risk [RR] 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74-1.10; five studies), neonatal metabolic acidosis (0.5% compared with 0.7%; RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.54-1.02; five studies), admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (5.4% compared with 5.5%; RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.90-1.10; six studies), perinatal death (0.1% compared with 0.1%; RR 1.71, 95% CI 0.67-4.33; six studies), neonatal encephalopathy (0.1% compared with 0.2%; RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.25-1.52; six studies), cesarean delivery (13.8% compared with 14.0%; RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.85-1.08; six studies), and operative delivery (either cesarean or operative vaginal delivery) (23.9% compared with 25.1%; RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.86-1.01; six studies). CONCLUSION: The use of ST analysis during labor as an adjunct to the standard cardiotocography does not improve perinatal outcomes or decrease cesarean delivery.