Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

CTG Interpretation
What is Cardiotocography?
Cardiotocography (CTG) is used in pregnancy to monitor both the foetal heart as well as the contractions of the
uterus.
It is usually only used in the 3rd trimester.
Its purpose is to monitor foetal well-being & allow early detection of foetal distress.
An abnormal CTG indicates the need for more invasive investigations & ultimately may lead to emergency
caesarian section.

How it works
The device used in cardiotocography is known as a cardiotocograph.
It involves the placement of 2 transducers on the abdomen of a pregnant woman.
1.

One transducer records the foetal heart rate using ultrasound.

2.

The other transducer monitors the contractions of the uterus.

It does this by measuring the tension of the maternal abdominal wall.
This provides an indirect indication of intrauterine pressure.

The CTG is then assessed by the midwife & obstetric medical team.

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

How to read a CTG

To interpret a CTG you need a structured method of assessing its various characteristics.
The most popular structure can be remembered using the acronym

DR C BRAVADO

DR Define Risk
C Contractions
BRa Baseline Rate
V Variability
A Accelerations
D Decelerations
O Overall impression

Define risk
You first need to assess if this pregnancy is high or low risk
This is important as it gives more context to the CTG reading
e.g. If the pregnancy is high risk, your threshold for intervening may be lowered

Reasons a pregnancy may be considered high risk are shown below

Maternal medical illness

Obstetric complications

Other risk factors

Gestational diabetes
Hypertension
Asthma

- Multiple gestation

No prenatal care

- Post-date gestation

Smoking

- Previous cesarean section

- IUGR

Drug abuse

- PROM
- Congenital malformations
- Oxytocin
- induction/augmentation of labor
- Pre-eclampsia

..

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Contractions
Record the number of contractions present in a 10 minute period e.g. 3 in 10
Each big square is equal to 1 minute, so you look how many contractions occurred in 10 squares
Individual contractions are seen as peaks on the part of the CTG monitoring uterine activity
You should assess contractions for the following:

Duration how long do the contractions last?

Intensity how strong are the contractions? (assessed using palpation)

In this example there are 2-3 contractions in a 10 minute period e.g. 3 in 10

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Baseline rate of foetal heart

The baseline rate is the average heart rate of the foetus in a 10 minute window
Look at the CTG & assess what the average heart rate has been over the last 10 minutes
Ignore any Accelerations or Decelerations
A normal foetal heart rate is between 110-150 bpm

Foetal Tachycardia
baseline heart rate greater than
160 bpm
Caused by,
- Foetal hypoxia
- Chorioamnionitis if maternal
.

fever also present

- Hyperthyroidism
- Foetal or Maternal Anaemia
- Foetal tachyarrhythmia

Foetal Bradycardia
baseline heart rate less than 110
bpm.

Severe prolonged bradycardia

Mild bradycardia of between 100110 bpm is common in the following

situations:

Caused by,
- Prolonged cord compression

(< 80 bpm for > 3 minutes)

indicates severe hypoxia

Cord prolapse

Post-date gestation

Epidural & Spinal Anaesthesia

Occiput posterior or transverse

presentations

Maternal seizures

Rapid foetal descent

If the cause cannot be identified and corrected, immediate delivery is recommended

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Variability
Baseline variability refers to the variation of foetal heart rate from one beat to the next
Variability occurs as a result of the interaction between the nervous system, chemoreceptors,
barorecptors & cardiac responsiveness.
Therefore it is a good indicator of how healthy the foetus is at that moment in time.
This is because a healthy foetus will constantly be adapting its heart rate to respond to changes in its
environment.
Normal variability is between 10-25 bpm

To calculate variability you look at how much the peaks & troughs of the heart rate deviate from the
baseline rate (in bpm)
.
Variability can be categorised as:

Reassuring 5 bpm

Non-reassuring < 5bpm for between 40-90 minutes

Abnormal < 5bpm for >90 minutes

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Reduced variability can be caused by:

Foetus sleeping this should last no longer than 40 minutes most common cause

Foetal acidosis (due to hypoxia) more likely if late decelerations also present

Foetal tachycardia

Drugs opiates, benzodiazipines, methyldopa, magnesium sulphate

Prematurity variability is reduced at earlier gestation (<28 weeks)

Congenital heart abnormalities

Reduced variability

Accelerations
Accelerations are an abrupt increase in baseline heart rate of >15 bpm for >15 seconds
The presence of accelerations is

reassuring

Antenatally, there should be at least 2 accelerations every 15 minutes

Accelerations occurring alongside uterine contractions are a sign of a healthy foetus
However the absence of accelerations with an otherwise normal CTG is of uncertain significance

Decelerations are an abrupt decrease in baseline heart rate of >15 bpm for >15 seconds. There are a
number of different types of decelerations, each with varying significance

Accelerations

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Early deceleration
Early decelerations start when uterine contraction begins & recover when uterine contraction stops
This is due to increased foetal intracranial pressure causing increased vagal tone
It therefore quickly resolves once the uterine contraction ends & intracranial pressure reduces
This type of deceleration is therefore considered to be physiological & not pathological

Variable deceleration
Variable decelerations are seen as a rapid fall in baseline rate with a variable recovery phase
They are variable in their duration & may not have any relationship to uterine contractions
They are most often seen during labor & in patients with reduced amniotic fluid volume
Variable decelerations are usually caused by umbilical cord compression

The umbilical vein is often occluded first causing an acceleration in response

Then the umbilical artery is occluded causing a subsequent rapid deceleration

When pressure on the cord is reduced another acceleration occurs & then the baseline rate returns

Accelerations before & after a variable deceleration are known as the shoulders of deceleration

Their presence indicates the foetus is not yet hypoxic & is adapting to the reduced blood flow.

Variable decelerations can sometimes resolve if the mother changes position

The presence of persistent variable decelerations indicates the need for close monitoring

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Variable decelerations without the shoulders is more worrying as it suggests the foetus is hypoxic

Variable deceleration

Late deceleration
Late decelerations begin at the peak of uterine contraction & recover after the contraction ends.
This type of deceleration indicates there is insufficient blood flow through the uterus & placenta
As a result blood flow to the foetus is significantly reduced causing foetal hypoxia & acidosis
Reduced utero-placental blood flow can be caused by:

Maternal hypotension

Pre-eclampsia

Uterine hyper-stimulation

The presence of late decelerations is taken seriously & foetal blood sampling for pH is indicated.
If foetal blood pH is acidotic, it indicates significant foetal hypoxia & the need for emergency C-section

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Late deceleration

Prolonged deceleration
A deceleration that last more than 2 minutes
If it lasts between 2-3 minutes it is classed as Non-Reasurring
If it lasts longer than 3 minutes it is immediately classed as Abnormal
Action must be taken quickly e.g. Foetal blood sampling / emergency C-section

Prolonged deceleration

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Sinusoidal Pattern
This type of pattern is rare, however if present it is very serious
It is associated with high

rates of foetal morbidity & mortality

It is described as:

A smooth, regular, wave-like pattern

Frequency of around 2-5 cycles a minute

Stable baseline rate around 120-160 bpm

No beat to beat variability

A sinusoidal pattern indicates:

Severe foetal hypoxia

Severe foetal anaemia

Foetal/Maternal Haemorrhage

.
Immediate C-section is indicated for this kind of pattern.
Outcome is usually poor

10

Seneeth Peramuna/2015JUN

Overall impression
Once you have assessed all aspects of the CTG you need to give your overall impression
The overall impression can be described as either: 4

Reassuring

Suspicious

Pathological

The overall impression is determined by how many of the CTG features were either reassuring, nonreassuring or abnormal. The NICE guideline below demonstrates how to decide which category a CTG
falls into.

11