Variables
As primary objective, neonatal short-term outcome was assessed by pH and
base excess (BE) in arterial umbilical cord blood from routinely
performed arterial blood gas analyses depending on receiving EA or not.
Secondary, differences in APGAR scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes, APGAR
score at 5 minutes <7 (AS5<7), admission to a
neonatological intensive care unit (NICU) or paediatric ward and
perinatal mortality up to day 7 postpartum were tested for an
association with EA. Duration of labour, perineal laceration grade III
and IV, instrumental delivery rates and episiotomy were compared for
descriptive purposes. The following
thresholds were applied for inclusion of data sets, as there appeared
obviously mistyped or unrealistic values: a birth weight
> 500g and <6000g, head circumference
>20 cm and <45 cm, pH >6.6 and
BE ≥±35 mmol/l.