Apgar score effective in assessing health of preterm infants
The vitality of preterm infants should be assessed with an Apgar score, a tool used to measure the health of newborns immediately after birth. That is the conclusion by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden who in a large observational study examined the value of Apgar scores for preterm infants. The findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.The so-called Apgar score has been used since the 1950s to quickly assess the vitality of the infant soon after birth. Doctors and midwifes measure five parameters in the infant—heart activity, respiration, muscle tone,