TY - JOUR
T1 - The Apgar score revisited
T2 - Influence of gestational age
AU - Catlin, Elizabeth A.
AU - Carpenter, Marshall W.
AU - Brann IV, Benjamin S.
AU - Mayfield, Steven R.
AU - Shaul, Philip W.
AU - Goldstein, Marshall
AU - Oh, William
N1 - Funding Information:
Introduced three decades ago, the Apgar scoring system ~ has gained wide acceptance as a descriptive assessment of the clinical status of the infant at birth. The five assessment criteria of the Apgar score include three signs (muscle tone, respiratory effort, reflex irritability) that reflect in part the newborn infant's level of developmental maturity and physiologic well-being. With regard to the influence of development on the various Apgar score components, muscle tone is typically flaccid in the infant of --<28 weeks gestation24; respiratory effort and regulation of respirations also decrease with declining gestational age, 5, 6 and primitive reflexes present in the full-term infant (sucking and rooting) are variably present to absent with decreasing gestational age? Therefore a low Apgar score in Supported by Training Grants T32 AM-07187-11, and T-32 HD 07232-04 from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service. Submitted for publication March 17, 1986; accepted June 23, 1986. Reprint requests: William Oh, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital, 50 Maude St., Providence, RI 02908.
PY - 1986/11
Y1 - 1986/11
N2 - We tested the hypothesis that Apgar scores are in part related to the newborn infant's level of maturity. Seventy-three pregnant women with normal fetuses of gestational age 22 to 42 weeks were studied. Fetal well-being was documented by a prospectively designed recording of pregnancy history, labor complications, and birth outcome, including cord blood pH and base deficit measurements. The 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores were directly related to gestational age. Respiratory efforts, muscle tone, and reflex were the major determinants for a decreasing Apgar score with declining gestational age. We conclude that the 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores are influenced by the infant's level of maturity and that our data may be useful in evaluating the true value of Apgar scores in assessing the fetal and neonatal condition of low birth weight infants.
AB - We tested the hypothesis that Apgar scores are in part related to the newborn infant's level of maturity. Seventy-three pregnant women with normal fetuses of gestational age 22 to 42 weeks were studied. Fetal well-being was documented by a prospectively designed recording of pregnancy history, labor complications, and birth outcome, including cord blood pH and base deficit measurements. The 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores were directly related to gestational age. Respiratory efforts, muscle tone, and reflex were the major determinants for a decreasing Apgar score with declining gestational age. We conclude that the 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores are influenced by the infant's level of maturity and that our data may be useful in evaluating the true value of Apgar scores in assessing the fetal and neonatal condition of low birth weight infants.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0022-3476(86)80715-6
DO - 10.1016/S0022-3476(86)80715-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 3772665
AN - SCOPUS:0022993696
SN - 0022-3476
VL - 109
SP - 865
EP - 868
JO - The Journal of pediatrics
JF - The Journal of pediatrics
IS - 5
ER -