Apgar score
Obstetrics
Also known as: Apgar-Score · Apgar-Schema · Apgar skoru · Apgar score (newborn assessment)
What it is for
The Apgar score (Virginia Apgar, 1953) rates a newborn's condition after birth on five signs, each scored 0, 1 or 2 (total 0–10). It is recorded at 1 and 5 minutes; if the 5-minute score is below 7, it is repeated every 5 minutes up to 20 minutes.
Classification
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Heart rate (Pulse) | absent 0; below 100/min 1; 100/min or more 2. |
| Respiratory effort (Respiration) | absent 0; slow or irregular 1; good, crying 2. |
| Muscle tone (Activity) | limp 0; some flexion of the limbs 1; active movement 2. |
| Reflex irritability (Grimace) | no response 0; grimace 1; cry, cough or sneeze 2. |
| Skin colour (Appearance) | blue or pale all over 0; pink body with blue extremities 1; completely pink 2. |
| Interpretation (5-minute score, term and late-preterm infants; AAP/ACOG) | 7–10 reassuring; 4–6 moderately abnormal; 0–3 low. |
| Limits | the score describes the infant's condition at that moment; a low score alone does not establish asphyxia. |
| Mnemonic | APGAR = Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. |
Source
The Apgar Score
AAP / ACOG · Pediatrics 2015;136:819–822 (AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn; ACOG Committee on Obstetric Practice); original: Apgar V, Curr Res Anesth Analg 1953;32:260–267
PMID: 26416932
- Edition
- Apgar 1953; interpretation bands per the AAP/ACOG joint statement 2015
- Checked on
Summary of the published classification in our own words. Not a substitute for the original publication.
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