Apgar score

A practical method of evaluating the physical condition of a newborn infant shortly after delivery. The Apgar score is a number arrived at by scoring the heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, skin color, and response to a catheter in the nostril. Each of these objective signs can receive 0, 1, or 2 points. A perfect Apgar score of 10 means an infant is in the best possible condition. An infant with an Apgar score of 0-3 needs immediate resuscitation. The Apgar score is done routinely 60 seconds after the birth of the infant and then it is commonly repeated 5 minutes after birth. In the event of a difficult resuscitation, the Apgar score may be done again at 10, 15, and 20 minutes. An Apgar score of 0-3 at 20 minutes of age is predictive of high rates of morbidity (disease) and mortality (death). The score is named for the preeminent American anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) who invented the scoring method in 1952. Having assisted at thousands of deliveries, Dr. Apgar wished to focus attention on the baby. Babies were traditionally dispatched directly to the nursery, often without much formal scrutiny after delivery. Apgar wanted the baby to be assessed in an organized meaningful manner by the delivery room personnel. Dr. Apgar was the first woman to be appointed a full professor at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

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Ap·gar score 'ap-.gär-'skō(ə)r, -'skȯ(ə)r n an index used to evaluate the condition of a newborn infant based on a rating of 0, 1, or 2 for each of the five characteristics of color, heart rate, response to stimulation of the sole of the foot, muscle tone, and respiration with 10 being a perfect score

Apgar Virginia (1909-1974)

American physician. Apgar began her medical career as an anesthesiologist and was for many years an attending anesthesiologist. As a result of her duties in the hospital delivery room, she developed a concern for the lack of immediate medical attention given the newborn. To rectify the situation she developed the Apgar score as a simple, quick test to determine the need for emergency treatment. The test soon became a standard procedure in hospitals all over the world. Turning to the study of congenital anomalies, Apgar became an authority on teratology and proper prenatal care.

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a method of rapidly assessing the general state of a baby immediately after birth. A maximum of 2 points is given for each of the following signs, usually measured at one minute and five minutes after delivery: type of breathing, heart rate, colour, muscle tone, and response to stimuli. Thus an infant scoring 10 points would be in optimum condition. When the score is low, the test is repeated at intervals as a guide to short-term progress.

V. Apgar (1909-74), US anaesthetist

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a numerical expression of the condition of a newborn infant, usually determined at 60 seconds after birth, being the sum of points gained on assessment of the heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color. Cf. recovery s.