Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34999866›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2022

Does the use of Doppler ultrasound reduce fetal mortality? A population study of all deliveries in Norway 1990-2014.

Jostein Grytten, Irene Skau, Anne Eskild

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Doppler Assessment of the Fetal Brain Circulation.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  2. The association of placental to fetal ratio with pregnancy duration.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025
    Article
  3. STAN and fetal deaths.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2022
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jostein GryttenDepartment of Community Dentistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Irene SkauDepartment of Community Dentistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Anne EskildDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
Akershus University Hospital · NOUniversity of Oslo · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of the present study was to examine the effect that the introduction of Doppler ultrasound in obstetric care has had on fetal death in Norway. One mechanism by which Doppler ultrasound may reduce fetal death may be through the increased use of Caesarean delivery. Therefore, we also examined the effect that the use of Doppler ultrasound has had on the use of Caesarean delivery.

methodsThe Medical Birth Registry of Norway provided detailed medical information for ∼1.2 million deliveries from 1990 to 2014. Information about the year of introduction of Doppler ultrasound was collected directly from the maternity units, using a questionnaire. The data were analysed using a hospital fixed-effects regression model with fetal death as the outcome measure. The key independent variable was the introduction of Doppler ultrasound at each maternity ward. Hospital-specific trends and risk factors of the mother for fetal death were included as covariates.

resultsFor pre-term deliveries, the introduction of Doppler ultrasound contributed to a reduction in fetal death of ∼30% and to an increase in planned Caesarean section of ∼15%. There were no effects for emergency Caesarean sections or inductions pre-term. The introduction of Doppler ultrasound had no effect on fetal death or Caesarean section for term deliveries.

conclusionsThe introduction of Doppler ultrasound during the 1990s and 2000s made a significant contribution to the decline in the number of pre-term fetal deaths in Norway. Increased use of Caesarean section may have contributed to this reduction.

Indexed as

Cesarean SectionFetal MortalityFemaleHumansNorwayPregnancyUltrasonographyUltrasonography, Dopplerdifference-in-difference estimatesDoppler ultrasoundfetal deathobstetric care

Identifiers

PMID34999866
PMCPMC8743111
OpenAlexW3174555695

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.