Comparison of the non-stress test with the evaluation of centralization ofblood flow for the prediction of neonatal compromise

Objective To determine whether the middle cerebral to umbilical artery syst olic/diastolic velocity waveform ratio (MC/UA) was a more sensitive indicat or of fetal compromise than the,non-stress test (NST). Study design An outcome study of high-risk patients undergoing NST testing and MC/UA studies within 10 days of delivery Patients were divined into fou r groups based oil their test results, and neonatal outcome parameters were compared. Results There were significant differences between all four test result gro ups with respect to length of stay ii? the neonatal intensive care unit (NI CU). Patients in whom both the NST and MC/UA ratio were normal had signific antly lower utilization of Cesarean section for delivery, admission and len gth of stall in the NICU and occurrence of significant neonatal complicatio ns. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the combination of the NST and MC/UA ratio was all excellent predictor of perinatal outcome. Colclusions The MC/UA ratio improves the sensitivity for the prediction of poor perinatal outcome when it is combined with the NST.