A statement of reaffirmation for this policy was published on May 1, 2009.
This policy is a revision of the policy posted on July 1, 1996.

POLICY STATEMENT

PEDIATRICS Vol. 117 No. 4 April 2006, pp. 1444-1447 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0325)
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POLICY STATEMENT

The Apgar Score

American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Fetus and Newborn, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Committee on Obstetric Practice

The Apgar score provides a convenient shorthand for reporting the status of the newborn infant and the response to resuscitation. The Apgar score has been used inappropriately to predict specific neurologic outcome in the term infant. There are no consistent data on the significance of the Apgar score in preterm infants. The Apgar score has limitations, and it is inappropriate to use it alone to establish the diagnosis of asphyxia. An Apgar score assigned during resuscitation is not equivalent to a score assigned to a spontaneously breathing infant. An expanded Apgar score reporting form will account for concurrent resuscitative interventions and provide information to improve systems of perinatal and neonatal care.

Key Words: Apgar score • asphyxia • neurologic outcome • resuscitation • cerebral palsy

Abbreviations: NRP—neonatal resuscitation program


Statement of reaffirmation:

AAP Publications Retired and Reaffirmed
Pediatrics 2009 123: 1421-1422. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

The following policy statement has been revised:

Use and Abuse of the Apgar Score
Committee on Fetus and Newborn, American Academy of Pediatrics and Committee on Obstetric Practice, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Pediatrics 1996 98: 141-142. [Abstract] [PDF]



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