The legal effects of fetal monitoring guidelines

Timing of elective cesarean delivery at term and its impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes among Thai and other Southeast Asian pregnant women

AIM

The impact of timing of elective cesarean delivery (CD) at term on maternal and neonatal outcomes among Thai and other Southeast Asian pregnancies was investigated. The rate of spontaneous labor before the scheduled CD, as well as maternal characteristics predicting spontaneous labor, was also evaluated.

METHODS

Data on maternal and neonatal outcomes of 1221 singleton pregnancies scheduled for either an elective repeat CD or an elective primary CD at 37-40 weeks of gestation were studied. The association between maternal characteristics and the risk of spontaneous labor was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in severe maternal complications between performing an elective CD at 39 weeks and at the other gestational ages. Severe neonatal complications were significantly decreased when a CD was performed electively from 38 weeks onwards. A total of 503 women (41.2 %) went into spontaneous labor before the scheduled CD. Using 39 weeks as the reference group, scheduling a CD at 37 or 38 weeks decreased the risk of spontaneous labor (6.67-fold and 4.55-fold, respectively) while scheduling a CD at 40 weeks had a 2.54-fold increased risk. A history of previous CD and teenage pregnancy were also predictors of spontaneous labor; adjusted odds ratios were 14.27 and 3.93, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The timing of elective CD at term had impacts on pregnancy outcomes among Thai and other Southeast Asian women. Gestational age at scheduled CD, a previous CD and teenage pregnancy were predictors of spontaneous labor.

Patients' refusal of recommended treatment

When patients require information to decide whether to accept recommended treatments, a question in both law and ethics is whether the same information is adequate whether they consent or refuse, or whether refusal requires more or repeated information. Refusals of recommended treatment can carry increased risks for patients' well-being and so require more emphatic disclosure without imposing pressure. A related question is whether guardians of dependents who would decline recommended treatment for themselves--for instance on religious grounds--can similarly decline it for their dependents. When pregnant women, children, and adolescents are able to give consent for recommended treatment, the question arises whether they are equally competent to refuse it and prevent their decisions being overridden by guardians or courts. Consenting to and refusing medical treatments recommended in one's own or dependents' best interests might not be the same sorts of decisions and could require different levels of disclosure and capacity.

Child neurology practice guidelines: past, present, and future

BACKGROUND

Practice guidelines have been developed in child neurology during the last fifteen years to address important clinical questions and provide evidence-based recommendations for patient care.

METHODS

This review describes the guideline development process and how it has evolved to meet the needs of child neurologists.

RESULTS

Several current child neurology guidelines are reviewed and the advantages and disadvantages of guidelines, as well as the legal consequences of using them to determine a standard of care are discussed. The future of guidelines and of their influence on integrated support systems also is considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Child neurology practice guidelines are a helpful resource for clinicians, families and institutions as they provide evidence-based recommendations concerning the diagnosis and management of common neurological conditions affecting children. Incorporating consensus processes has allowed expansion of clinically relevant recommendations that has increased the utility of guidelines.

Clinical practice guidelines and practice parameters for the child neurologist

Guidance about how to practice child neurology has been around for decades. Recently, however, clinical practice guidelines, practice parameters, and standardized clinical assessment and management plans are gaining increasing attention. This overview, written for child neurologists, addresses such issues as the following: what are clinical practice guidelines, why are they needed, how are they created, how should they be created, how well are they accepted and adhered to, what influences acceptance and adherence, do guidelines improve care, do they reduce costs, will they be viewed by courts as the standard of care, how can they be updated and improved, and are there better alternatives?

When is primary cesarean appropriate: fetal indications

The objective of this review was to assess the evidence that supports cesarean delivery for fetal indications. The main fetal reasons for abdominal delivery include abnormal fetal heart rate patterns in labor, malpresentation, fetal macrosomia, multiple gestation, and both functional and structural fetal abnormalities. Although the level of evidence is not as strong as anticipated, there is sufficient support for cesarean delivery when these fetal conditions complicate pregnancy. Efforts to decrease cesarean delivery for fetal indications in the current medicolegal environment will not be easy; however, the development of more sensitive tools to assess fetal well-being in labor and practices to deliver or reduce fetuses in breech presentation at term have the potential for greatest impact on the overall primary cesarean delivery rate.

Rise in cesarean section rate over a 20-year period in a public sector hospital in northern Thailand

OBJECTIVE

To determine a trend of cesarean section rate (CSR) and main contributing factors in a public sector hospital, representing northern part of Thailand.

METHODS

A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted by assessing the database of maternal-fetal medicine unit, which had prospectively been collected for 20 years. Trends were evaluated using data for the years 1992-2011. Private sector patients were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 50,872 public sector patients were available for analysis. The number of deliveries was gradually decreased from 3,802 in 1992 to 1,748 in 2011. Of them, 7,480 underwent cesarean section, CSR of 14.7 %. However, the CSR was significantly increased from 11.3 % in 1992 to 23.6 % in 2011 (p value <0.001). The CSRs indicated by cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) and previous CSs were mainly responsible for a marked increase over the study period. CSR due to CPD was increased from 3.2 % in 1992 to 7.9 % in 2011 (p value <0.0001). While CSR due to other indications either breech presentation, fetal distress and twin pregnancies were only slightly, but significantly increased in the last decades but they are relatively constant in the recent years.

CONCLUSIONS

In our public sector, CSR has gradually increased. The main reasons of such an increase were likely to be associated with over-diagnosis of CPD and subsequent repeated CS, while other indications played only a minimal role. To achieve the appropriate CSR, audit system for diagnosis of CPD must be instituted.

Human factors affecting the interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings: an update

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Human factors can have an important impact on cardiotocography (CTG) interpretation and management decisions, and therefore may directly affect obstetrical outcomes.

RECENT FINDINGS

It has been well demonstrated that there is wide observer disagreement over CTG interpretation, particularly in the evaluation of variability, decelerations, and overall tracing classification. The reasons behind this are still incompletely understood, but poor reproducibility can have a profound impact on the technology's accuracy and on its efficacy. Some scientific societies have recently revised their guidelines for CTG interpretation, but no up-to-date universally accepted recommendation exists. In spite of some approximation between the major guideline sets, important differences still exist between them, and they remain complex and prone to memory decay. Regular training in CTG interpretation appears to result in increased knowledge, better observer agreement, and improved quality of care. Computer analysis has also been developed, but remains heavily dependent on staff to confirm interpretation and to decide clinical management.

SUMMARY

An international consensus, comprising simpler and more objective interpretation guidelines, together with regular staff training, and improved decision support systems seem to be the way forward for this technology.