APGAR Score is a tool to evaluate a newborn baby health.
Elements of the APGAR Score include the Colour, Heart Rate , Reflexex, Muscle tone & Respiration. APGAR score is designed to assess for signs of hemodynamic compromise such as cyanosis, hypoperfusion, bradiacardia, hypotonia, respiratory depression or apnea.
APGAR SCORE EXPLAINED
- This tool for the assessment of newborn baby is devised by 1952 by VERGINIA APGAR the American Anasthatologist
The score range from 1-10
Calculated at 1 & 5 Minutes.
If less than 7 to be repeated every 5 minutes up to 20 minutes.
APGAR Scoring System
| Indicators | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| (A)Appearance | completely pink | Acrocyanosis (Body pink, Extremities blue) | Pale or blue all over |
| (P)Pulse | more than 100 bpm | Less than 100 bpm | Absent |
| (G)Grimace | Pulls away when Stimulated, sneezes, coughs, good, strong cry. | Fascial griemce, feeble cry when stimulated | No response with stimulation |
| (A)Activity | Active Movement, well flexed extremities | some flexion of extremities | no movement (Flaccid , limp) |
| (R)Respiration | good, strong cry | slow , irregular weak cry | absent |
SCORE INTERPRETATION
| Score | Interpretation | Nursing intervention |
| 7 to 10 | Good Adjustment | Rarely needs resusitation, airway clearance |
| 4 to 6 | Moderately depressed Infant | suction dry immediately until stable careful observation Intensive resusitation: CPR |
| 0 to 3 | Severely depressed infant | Intubation, Ventilate with 100% O2, Maintain body temperature , Parental support |
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
To Identify infants that require respiratory support or any other resusitative support
Many infants with low APGAR Score do not go on to develop cerebral palsy but with time increases the population risk of the poor neurological outcome.
Score less than 5 at 5 and 10 minutes correlate with an increased relative risk of the cerebral palsy.
