Score, Apgar

Score, Apgar: A practical method to assess a newborn infant, 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. An Apgar score of 10 means an infant is in the best possible condition.. The Apgar score is done routinely 60 seconds after the complete birth of the infant. An infant with a score of 0-3 needs immediate resusitation. The Apgar score is commonly repeated 5 minutes after birth and in the event of a difficult resusitation, the Apgar 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 morbidity (disease) and mortality. The score is named for the American anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) at Columbia University in New York who originated the scoring method.