Editing Apgar score (section)

{{Short description|Scale for newborn viability}}
{{Redirect|APGAR|other uses|Apgar (disambiguation){{!}}Apgar}}
{{Infobox diagnostic
| name = Apgar score
| image = Virginia Apgar.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Virginia Apgar, creator of the Apgar score
| pronounce = 
| purpose = 
}}

The '''Apgar score''' is a quick way for health professionals to evaluate the health of all [[newborns]] at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and in response to [[Neonatal resuscitation|resuscitation]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=The Apgar Score|url=https://www.acog.org/en/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2015/10/the-apgar-score|access-date=2021-09-10|website=www.acog.org|language=en}}</ref> It was originally developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist at Columbia University, [[Virginia Apgar]], to address the need for a standardized way to evaluate infants shortly after birth.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Calmes|first=Selma H.|date=May 2015|title=Dr. Virginia Apgar and the Apgar Score: How the Apgar Score Came to Be|journal=[[Anesthesia & Analgesia]]|volume=120|issue=5|pages=1060–1064|doi=10.1213/ANE.0000000000000659|pmid=25899273|s2cid=41296774|issn=0003-2999|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Today, the categories developed by Apgar used to assess the health of a newborn remain largely the same as in 1952, though the way they are implemented and used has evolved over the years.<ref name=":5">{{Citation|last1=Simon|first1=Leslie V.|title=APGAR Score|date=2021|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470569/|work=StatPearls|place=Treasure Island, Florida|publisher=StatPearls Publishing|pmid=29262097|access-date=2021-09-10|last2=Hashmi|first2=Muhammad F.|last3=Bragg|first3=Bradley N.}}</ref> The score is determined through the evaluation of the newborn in five criteria: activity (tone), pulse, grimace, appearance, and respiration. For each criterion, newborns can receive a score from 0 to 2.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5"/><ref name=":0" /> The list of criteria is a [[backronym]] of Apgar's surname.