Medical Legal Issues in Fetal Monitoring

Clinics in Perinatology

Volumn 34, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 329-343

  Schifrin, Barry S ^a   Cohen, Wayne R ^b,c  

^a KAISER PERMANENTE MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

^b JAMAICA HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

^c WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CLINICAL DECISION MAKING; COURT; EXPERT WITNESS; FEASIBILITY STUDY; FETUS; FETUS HEART RATE; FETUS HYPOXIA; FETUS MONITORING; HEALTH CARE QUALITY; HUMAN; LABOR; LABOR STAGE; LAW; LAW SUIT; LEGAL ASPECT; MALPRACTICE; MEDICAL ETHICS; NEGLIGENCE; OUTCOME ASSESSMENT; PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROGNOSIS; REVIEW; SAFETY; VAGINAL DELIVERY;

BRAIN INJURIES; CEREBRAL PALSY; FEMALE; FETAL DISTRESS; FETAL HYPOXIA; FETAL MONITORING; HEART RATE, FETAL; HUMANS; MALPRACTICE; PREGNANCY; TERMINOLOGY;

EID: 34250193270     PISSN: 00955108     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.clp.2007.03.010     Document Type: Review

References (74)

1. ACOG Practice Bulletin #70: intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring. Obstet Gynecol 106 6 (2005) 1453-1460
2. Hankins G.D., MacLennan A.H., Speer M.E., et al. Obstetric litigation is asphyxiating our maternity services. Obstet Gynecol 107 6 (2006) 1382-1385
3. MacLennan A., Nelson K.B., Hankins G., et al. Who will deliver our grandchildren? Implications of cerebral palsy litigation. JAMA 294 13 (2005) 1688-1690
4. MacLennan A., and Robinson J. Cerebral palsy and clinical negligence litigation: a cohort study. BJOG 111 1 (2004) 92-93
5. MacLennan A.H. A guest editorial from abroad: medicolegal opinion-time for peer review. Obstet Gynecol Surv 56 3 (2001) 121-123
6. Alfirevic Z., Devane D., and Gyte G.M. Continuous cardiotocography (CTG) as a form of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) for fetal assessment during labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 3 (2006) CD006066
7. Scott J.R. Expert witnesses: perpetuating a flawed system. Obstet Gynecol 106 5 Pt 1 (2005) 902-903
8. Cerebral palsy, intrapartum care, and a shot in the foot. Lancet 2 8674 (1989) 1251-1252
9. Symonds E.M. Fetal monitoring: medical and legal implications for the practitioner. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 6 5 (1994) 430-433
10. Lent M. The medical and legal risks of the electronic fetal monitor. Stanford Law Rev 51 4 (1999) 807-837
11. Clark S.L., and Hankins G.D. Temporal and demographic trends in cerebral palsy-fact and fiction. Am J Obstet Gynecol 188 3 (2003) 628-633
12. Shier D., and Tilson J.L. The temporal stage fallacy: a novel statistical fallacy in the medical literature. Med Health Care Philos 9 2 (2006) 243-247
13. Paneth N., Bommarito M., and Stricker J. Electronic fetal monitoring and later outcome. Clin Invest Med 16 2 (1993) 159-165
14. Paneth N. Cerebral palsy in term infants-birth or before birth?. J Pediatr 138 6 (2001) 791-792
15. Paneth N. The causes of cerebral palsy. Recent evidence. Clin Invest Med 16 2 (1993) 95-102
16. Volpe J. Neurology of the newborn. 4th edition (2001), W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia
17. Schifrin B.S., and Ater S. Fetal hypoxic and ischemic injuries. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 18 2 (2006) 112-122
18. Schifrin B.S. The CTG and the timing and mechanism of fetal neurological injuries. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 18 3 (2004) 437-456
19. Korst L.M., Phelan J.P., Wang Y.M., et al. Acute fetal asphyxia and permanent brain injury: a retrospective analysis of current indicators. J Matern Fetal Med 8 3 (1999) 101-106
20. ACOG Committee Opinion. Number 326, December 2005. Inappropriate use of the terms fetal distress and birth asphyxia. Obstet Gynecol 106 6 (2005) 1469-1470
21. ACOG technical bulletin. Dystocia and the augmentation of labor. Number 218-December 1995 (replaces no. 137, December 1989, and no. 157, July 1991). American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 53 1 (1996) 73-80
22. Johnson N., van Oudgaarden E., Montague I., et al. The effect of oxytocin-induced hyperstimulation on fetal oxygen. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 101 9 (1994) 805-807
23. Oppenheimer L.W., Bland E.S., Dabrowski A., et al. Uterine contraction pattern as a predictor of the mode of delivery. J Perinatol 22 2 (2002) 149-153
24. MacDonald D., Grant A., Sheridan-Pereira M., et al. The Dublin randomized controlled trial of intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring. Am J Obstet Gynecol 152 5 (1985) 524-539
25. Chalmers I. Continuous fetal heart rate monitoring. J R Soc Med 94 5 (2001) 258
26. Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring: research guidelines for interpretation. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Research Planning Workshop. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 26 6 (1997) 635-640
27. Benson R.C., Shubeck F., Deutschberger J., et al. Fetal heart rate as a predictor of fetal distress. A report from the collaborative project. Obstet Gynecol 32 2 (1968) 259-266
28. Ellison P.H., Foster M., Sheridan-Pereira M., et al. Electronic fetal heart monitoring, auscultation, and neonatal outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol 164 5 Pt 1 (1991) 1281-1289
29. Larson E.B., van Belle G., Shy K.K., et al. Fetal monitoring and predictions by clinicians: observations during a randomized clinical trial in very low birth weight infants. Obstet Gynecol 74 4 (1989) 584-589
30. Graham E.M., Petersen S.M., Christo D.K., et al. Intrapartum electronic fetal heart rate monitoring and the prevention of perinatal brain injury. Obstet Gynecol 108 3 Pt 1 (2006) 656-666
31. Low J.A. Intrapartum fetal surveillance. Is it worthwhile?. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am 26 4 (1999) 725-739
32. Westgate J.A., Gunn A.J., and Gunn T.R. Antecedents of neonatal encephalopathy with fetal acidaemia at term. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 106 8 (1999) 774-782
33. Murray M.L. Maternal or fetal heart rate? Avoiding intrapartum misidentification. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 33 1 (2004) 93-104
34. Schifrin B., et al. Maternal heart rate pattern-a confounding factor in intrapartum fetal surveillance. Prenat Neonatal Med 6 (2001) 75-82
35. Westgate J.A., Bennet L., de Haan H.H., et al. Fetal heart rate overshoot during repeated umbilical cord occlusion in sheep. Obstet Gynecol 97 3 (2001) 454-459
36. Westgate J.A., Bennet L., and Gunn A.J. Fetal heart rate variability changes during brief repeated umbilical cord occlusion in near term fetal sheep. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 106 7 (1999) 664-671
37. Phelan J.P., Ahn M.O., Korst L., et al. Intrapartum fetal asphyxial brain injury with absent multiorgan system dysfunction. J Matern Fetal Med 7 1 (1998) 19-22
38. Phelan J.P., and Kirkendall C. Permanent brain injury. A retrospective analysis of the international consensus criteria. Obstet Gynecol 99 (2002) 62S-63S
39. Asakura H., Schifrin B.S., and Myers S.A. Intrapartum, atraumatic, non-asphyxial intracranial hemorrhage in a full-term infant. Obstet Gynecol 84 4 Pt 2 (1994) 680-683
40. Schifrin B.S., Hamilton-Rubinstein T., and Shields J.R. Fetal heart rate patterns and the timing of fetal injury. J Perinatol 14 3 (1994) 174-181
41. Shields J.R., and Schifrin B.S. Perinatal antecedents of cerebral palsy. Obstet Gynecol 71 6 Pt 1 (1988) 899-905
42. Dijxhoorn M.J., Visser G.H., Fidler V.J., et al. Apgar score, meconium and acidaemia at birth in relation to neonatal neurological morbidity in term infants. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 93 3 (1986) 217-222
43. Dijxhoorn M.J., Visser G.H., Huisjes, et al. The relation between umbilical pH values and neonatal neurological morbidity in full term appropriate-for-dates infants. Early Hum Dev 11 1 (1985) 33-42
44. Clapp J.F., Peress N.S., Wesley M., et al. Brain damage after intermittent partial cord occlusion in the chronically instrumented fetal lamb. Am J Obstet Gynecol 159 2 (1988) 504-509
45. De Haan H.H., Gunn A.J., Williams C.E., et al. Brief repeated umbilical cord occlusions cause sustained cytotoxic cerebral edema and focal infarcts in near-term fetal lambs. Pediatr Res 41 1 (1997) 96-104
46. Ingemarsson E., Ingemarsson I., Solum T., et al. Influence of occiput posterior position on the fetal heart rate pattern. Obstet Gynecol 55 3 (1980) 301-304
47. Sokol R.J. Occiput posterior position and FHR patterns. Obstet Gynecol 57 2 (1981) 266-267
48. Cheng Y.W., Shaffer B.L., and Caughey A.B. The association between persistent occiput posterior position and neonatal outcomes. Obstet Gynecol 107 4 (2006) 837-844
49. Amiel-Tison C., Sureau C., and Shnider S.M. Cerebral handicap in full-term neonates related to the mechanical forces of labour. Baillieres Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2 1 (1988) 145-165
50. Spencer J.A., Badawi N., Burton P., et al. The intrapartum CTG prior to neonatal encephalopathy at term: a case-control study. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 104 1 (1997) 25-28
51. Nelson K.B. What proportion of cerebral palsy is related to birth asphyxia?. J Pediatr 112 4 (1988) 572-574
52. Nelson K.B., Dambrosia J.M., Ting T.Y., et al. Uncertain value of electronic fetal monitoring in predicting cerebral palsy. N Engl J Med 334 10 (1996) 613-618
53. Ikeda T., Murata Y., Quilligan E.J., et al. Fetal heart rate patterns in postasphyxiated fetal lambs with brain damage. Am J Obstet Gynecol 179 5 (1998) 1329-1337
54. Visser G.H.A., and Narayan H. The problem of increasing severe neurological morbidity in newborn infants: where should the focus be?. Prenatal and Neonatal Med 1 (1996) 12-15
55. Badawi N., Felix J.F., Kurinczuk J.J., et al. Cerebral palsy following term newborn encephalopathy: a population-based study. Dev Med Child Neurol 47 5 (2005) 293-298
56. Cowan F., Rutherford M., Groenendaal F., et al. Origin and timing of brain lesions in term infants with neonatal encephalopathy. Lancet 361 9359 (2003) 736-742
57. Pomerance J. Interpreting umbilical cord blood gases. Pasedena (CA): BNMG; 2004. 132. Available at: http://www.cordgases.com.
58. Westgate J., Garibaldi J.M., and Greene K.R. Umbilical cord blood gas analysis at delivery: a time for quality data. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 101 12 (1994) 1054-1063
59. Hankins G.D., and Speer M. Defining the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy. Obstet Gynecol 102 3 (2003) 628-636
60. ACOG. Neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy: defining the pathogenesis and pathophysiology (2003), ACOG, Washington, DC 94
61. Apfel D. Using a differential diagnosis to prove that intrapartum asphyxia is a significant cause of cerebral palsy. Am J Trial Advocacy 30 (2006) 89-163
62. Schitrin B.S. Medicolegal ramifications of electronic fetal monitoring during labor. Clin Perinatol 22 4 (1995) 837-854
63. Bennet L., Westgate J.A., Liu Y.C., et al. Fetal acidosis and hypotension during repeated umbilical cord occlusions are associated with enhanced chemoreflex responses in near-term fetal sheep. J Appl Physiol 99 4 (2005) 1477-1482
64. Williams R.L., and Hawes W.E. Cesarean section, fetal monitoring, and perinatal mortality in California. Am J Public Health 69 9 (1979) 864-870
65. Greenwood C., Newman S., Impey L., et al. Cerebral palsy and clinical negligence litigation: a cohort study. BJOG 110 1 (2003) 6-11
66. Ransom S.B., Studdert D.M., Dombrowski M.P., et al. Reduced medicolegal risk by compliance with obstetric clinical pathways: a case-control study. Obstet Gynecol 101 4 (2003) 751-755
67. Ennis M., and Vincent C.A. Obstetric accidents: a review of 64 cases. BMJ 300 6736 (1990) 1365-1367
68. Tan K.H., Wyldes M.P., Settatree R., et al. Confidential regional enquiry into mature stillbirths and neonatal deaths-a multi-disciplinary peer panel perspective of the perinatal care of 238 deaths. Singapore Med J 40 4 (1999) 251-255
69. JCAHO. Sentinel Event Alert Issue # 30. Preventing infant death and injury during delivery 2004. Available at: http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_30. htm. 2004.
70. Macintosh M.C. Continuous fetal heart rate monitoring: is there a conflict between confidential enquiry findings and results of randomized trials?. J R Soc Med 94 1 (2001) 14-16
71. West C.R., Curr L., Battin M.R., et al. Antenatal antecedents of moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy in term infants-a regional review. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 45 3 (2005) 207-210
72. Williams B., and Arulkumaran S. Cardiotocography and medicolegal issues. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 18 3 (2004) 457-466
73. Hankins G.D., Clark S.M., and Munn M.B. Cesarean section on request at 39 weeks: impact on shoulder dystocia, fetal trauma, neonatal encephalopathy, and intrauterine fetal demise. Semin Perinatol 30 5 (2006) 276-287
74. Towner D., Castro M.A., Eby-Wilkens E., et al. Effect of mode of delivery in nulliparous women on neonatal intracranial injury. N Engl J Med 341 23 (1999) 1709-1714