A Comparison of the Effects of Caffeine and Acoustic Stimulation on Biophysical Profile Duration and Score

Biophysical profile (BPP) is a method to check fetal health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of caffeine and acoustic stimulation on fetal BPP duration and score, and compare their results with control group with no intervention.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 150 women who had referred to Tabriz Al-Zahra hospital. The participants were divided randomly into three groups of 50; group I (control) without intervention; group II (caffeine-recipient) who had caffeine before the procedure; and group III (acoustic stimulation) who received acoustic stimulation during the procedure using a reflex hammer.

Our results showed that both fetal BPP duration and fetal profile score were significantly different across the 3 groups. The fetal BPP duration was significantly shorter in the caffeine-receiving group (P=0.00), and fetal profile score in the same group was significantly higher (P=0.00).

Generally, using caffeine-containing drink before BPP tests may result in shorter test duration and higher test score.