sensitivity and specificity data
Last reviewed 12/2022
A recent study compared cardiotocographic data for:
- term neonates who subsequently developed cerebral palsy
- matched controls
Two CTG characteristics were associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy:
- multiple late (type II) decelerations in foetal heart rate (odds ratio = 3.9)
- decreased beat-to-beat variability (odds ratio = 2.7)
However the test has a poor sensitivity and specificity:
- sensitivity is less than 30%
- the false positive rate is 99.8%