In Poland, about 120 children will be born in the next three months. This means that around the same number of women are now experiencing the stress of childbirth, compounded by concerns over the spread of the coronavirus and the risk of infection. In the face of a pandemic, it is worth limiting routine visits to medical facilities to the necessary minimum. In this difficult situation, more and more pregnant women decide to use remote diagnostics. Through telemedicine systems, it is possible, for example, to conduct a CTG examination. Thanks to technologically advanced devices, the patient remains under the supervision of specialists without leaving home.
What is telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a way of providing remote medical services using telecommunications solutions. At a time when it is necessary to limit contact with the outside world, and when hospitals and clinics are places of potential exposure to the virus, it is experiencing its renaissance. We already use teleconsultation, and e-prescriptions and e-exemptions are issued en masse. Nothing prevents you from going one step further, as tools for home diagnostics are already available, including the assessment of the condition of the unborn child using cardiotocography (KTG).
KTG examination – everything a pregnant woman should know
KTG is a simple, non-invasive and safe method that detects and records the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions. It also allows you to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which is a wonderful and emotional experience for future parents and older siblings. The correct CTG test result gives you almost 100% certainty that the baby is safe. Incorrect result may be caused, among others, by infection of the fetus, but above all its hypoxia, which is a condition that directly threatens the health and life of the child. Hypoxia may be the result of an umbilical collision or impaired function of the aging placenta. The older the pregnancy, the greater the risk of hypoxia, and the more vulnerable are children of women with complicated pregnancies, such as gestational diabetes or hypertension. The detection of early symptoms of hypoxia gives a chance for quick medical intervention and minimizing its negative effects.
KTG is routinely performed after term, but many gynecologists perform this test for their patients prophylactically at each third trimester follow-up visit. In addition, women who cannot sense their baby’s movements or are concerned about their baby’s safety for any other reason have a CTG test performed when they see their doctor or the emergency room. Often the necessity of daily assessment of the condition of the fetus by means of cardiotocography is the reason for hospitalization, especially in the case of high-risk pregnant women.
New opportunities thanks to telemedicine – Mobile KTG will be pregnant
Until recently, CTG testing was possible only with the use of a large and expensive apparatus available only in medical facilities. Currently, the development of medical technologies makes it possible to perform CTG at home, by the patient himself. Mobile CTG devices can be rented in hospitals or in facilities providing telemedicine services. One of such devices is Pregnabit, a product of the innovative Nestmedic company from Wrocław. Pregnabit together with the packaging weighs about a kilogram, is ergonomic and intuitive to use. The device connects automatically to the internet platform to which the CTG record is sent so that it can be assessed by specialists working in the Medical Telemonitoring Center. The patient receives the result within minutes. If it is correct, the information is sent via SMS, while if the record raises doubts, the Center contacts the patient by telephone in order to collect the interview and provide instructions on how to proceed – most often it will be to repeat the examination. In the event of an abnormal recording, it will be recommended to contact a doctor for further diagnosis. In situations requiring urgent intervention, the Center may call an ambulance directly to the patient. Patients whose record was incorrect or suspicious are always cared for and closely monitored. In addition, women using Pregnabit have access to a helpline through which they can contact a midwife if they are concerned.
The effectiveness of the Pregnabit system has been confirmed in a scientific study. It has been shown that 97% of the assessment of the condition of the fetus on the basis of CTG recording performed by the patient with a mobile device will be identical to the assessment of the recording made by a specialist with a hospital device. Moreover, remote evaluation of the record is as reliable as on-site evaluation in a medical facility [1]. Telemedicine CTG therefore makes it possible to conduct a test with a diagnostic value equivalent to a test performed by a specialist in a hospital setting. However, they are performed in the comfort of your own home, away from epidemiological threats. TeleKTG allows you to avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room, waiting in a queue, and even hospitalization, if the patient has indications only for increased cardiotocographic supervision.
At the same time, KTG Pregnabit provides a sense of security and reduces concerns about the baby’s condition every time a pregnant woman feels it. Increased anxiety is especially common in women who have had a difficult experience of miscarriage or death of the fetus, as well as in women who are at risk of pregnancy. In the survey, 97% of patients declared that the possibility of performing CTG at home increased their sense of security and comfort [2].
An additional benefit of telemedical CTG is the ability to verify whether the experienced contractions are a symptom of upcoming delivery, or whether they are only predictive contractions that do not require a visit to the hospital. This is due to the monitoring of uterine contractions and their evaluation by experienced personnel. This is a function that also allows you to limit unnecessary visits to medical facilities, and thus exposure to contact with a person infected with coronavirus. At the same time, early detection of labor contractions in unborn pregnancy gives a chance to inhibit labor and prolong pregnancy.
The telemedicine CTG Pregnabit provides a sense of security and comfort of staying at home, which during the COVID-19 pandemic is tantamount to ensuring the safety of a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
[1] the result based on the analysis of 82 pairs of records; Pilarczyk R, Strózik M, Hirnle L. Diagnostic equivalency of mobile CTG devices and remote analysis to conventional on-site nonstress test. Adv Clin Exp Med. 2020; 29 (1): 33-44. doi: 10.17219 / acem / 111812
[2] a questionnaire study on a sample of 81 patients
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