Apgar Scoring

The Apgar scoring system was developed in 1953 by Virginia Apgar to differentiate between infants who require resuscitation efforts and those for whom routine care is sufficient. Apgar scoring is performed while care is being delivered. The Apgar system has since become a standard neonatal assessment tool, comprising 1- and 5-minute assessments of appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. A score of 8 to 10 is normal, while a score of 0 to 3 is a sign of fetal distress requiring immediate resuscitation. The low score is considered a nonspecific sign of illness, which may be one of the first indications of encephalopathy. The score is used in conjunction with routine neonatal assessment.