Clinical significance of short-term variability computed from heart-rate waveforms

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Abstract
The significance of short-term variability (STV) of the baseline fetal heart rate (FHR) as a prime indicator of fetal well-being is well recognized. For consistently reliable assessment of short-term variability, objective quantification is a necessity. A retrospective clinical evaluation was made of a new technique of STV quantification in terms of beats/min derived from the slowly varying instantaneous FHR waveform rather than from the relatively rapidly varying fetal ECG. FHR signals from 45 patients, internally monitored during labor, were studied. Results demonstrated the successful clinical applicability of a new and objective method of STV quantification which can be implemented in a fraction of the time required to compute the differential index from the fetal ECG without special time-encoding hardware. The method can be implemented in real-time on a microcomputer. Low STV was associated with poor neonatal outcome.

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