Ultrasound examinations were conducted on 160 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Al Fayrouz Hospital in Cairo, Egypt and who delivered between January 1990-January 1991. Their pregnancy outcomes were compared with those of 159 controls who did not undergo an ultrasound examination and who delivered before December 1989. The clinic began conducting routine ultrasound examinations of all pregnant women in January 1990. The clinic staff used a fetal biophysical profile scale to assess the condition of the fetus. The variables of the score included presence or absence of air pockets in the amniotic fluid, amniotic fluid volume, fetal breathing movement, gross body movements, and fetal tone. The stillbirth rate for the control group stood at 6.29/1000 whereas no stillbirths occurred in the study group. The neonatal mortality rate for the controls was 37.74 compared with 18.75 for the cases. When the number of infants who died of congenital anomalies and severe alloimmunization disorders were included, the gross perinatal mortality rate for the controls was 44.03 while that of the cases was 18.75. The corrected perinatal mortality rate (exclusion of congenital anomalies and severe alloimmunization disorders), was 25.16 for controls and 6.25 for cases. The fetal biophysical profile used at the antenatal clinic at Al Fayrouz Hospital met all the criteria for a sensitive screening technique. Use of the fetal biophysical profile score did reduce perinatal mortality. Nevertheless as technology improves, staff gain additional experience, and physicians learn more about fetal physiology, the score should be modified accordingly.

作者：M M, Awad

来源：Journal Of The Egyptian Society Of Obstetrics And Gynecology 1991 年 17卷 1期