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Fetal Monitoring

·302 words·2 mins

Josh Steinberg (scroll down - he's the Mac-user) e-mailed a question to the NE ALSO faculty listserv a while back . and has now answered his own question:

I inquired about online tutorials for fetal heart monitor strips, and now I have the answer.

Here’s one via the University of Nottingham’s ob/gyn site in Britain: http://www.fetal.freeserve.co.uk/  It’s nice because it gives a look at overall issues and approaches to fetal monitoring, including but not limited to continuous EFM, also gives practice questions at the end of the module.

Another I can’t get access to but might be of use.  It is proprietary software for sale developed at Virginia Commonwealth University’s med school called, “Clinical Simulations of Fetal Heart Rate Patterns in Labor”.  One could spend money to purchase the software.  See about a third of the way down the page: http://www.cbil.vcu.edu/resources/projects.html

Finally, there is a dynamite, exhaustive Evidence Based review of electronic fetal monitoring (144 page .pdf)  with tons of details, definitions, decision guides about when to monitor, when not to, how to respond to various results – all linked to quality of evidence and strength of recommendation levels – at none other than the British site of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (however the Brits spell that).  Nice thing about Brit websites is that they aren’t all trying to make a buck off everything, so I found lots more accessability than at American websites.  As a poignant example, one can’t get into ACOG’s website without being a paying member and journal subscriber.  I am attaching the PDF RCOG evidence linked guideline, for what it’s worth.  It’s only weakness is that it contains no actual examples of fetal heart tracings.

Since we've not yet convinced Josh to begin a weblog .. I've posted his work product here.  Well done, Josh!