Apgar Score

A method, developed by Dr. Virginia Apgar, to evaluate a newborn's adjustment to extrauterine life. Five items - heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color - are evaluated 60 seconds after birth and again five minutes later on a scale from 0-2, 0 being the lowest, 2 being normal. The five numbers are added for the Apgar score. A score of 0-3 represents severe distress, 4-7 indicates moderate distress, and a score of 7-10 predicts an absence of difficulty in adjusting to extrauterine life.

Year introduced: 1973(1971)

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Tree Number(s): E01.370.600.050

MeSH Unique ID: D001034

Entry Terms:

• Score, Apgar

Previous Indexing:

• Infant, Newborn (1966-1970)
• Physical Examination (1966-1970)

All MeSH Categories
Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Category
Diagnosis
Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures
Physical Examination
Apgar Score