Question

At 1 minute after birth, the nurse assesses the newborn to assign an Apgar score. The apical heart rate is 110 bpm, and the infant is crying vigorously with the limbs flexed. The infant's trunk is pink, but the hands and feet are blue. What is the Apgar score for this infant?

Answer 1

The newborn's Apgar score, calculated using the provided criteria, is 9 at 1 minute after birth. This score suggests that the baby is in a generally good physical condition as it is above the normal threshold of 7.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Apgar score is a quick test performed on a newborn at 1 minute and again at 5 minutes after birth to determine the physical condition of the baby and if immediate medical care is necessary. Each of the five criteria - appearance (skin color), pulse (heart rate), grimace (reflex irritability), activity (muscle tone), and respiration - are scored on a scale of 0 to 2, with a maximum total score of 10 indicating optimal physical condition.

We can assess the infant's score with the given information as follows:

• Appearance: Trunk is pink but extremities are blue, which scores 1 point.
• Pulse: Heart rate is 110 bpm, which scores 2 points (normal is over 100 bpm).
• Grimace: Infant cries on stimulation which scores 2 points.
• Activity: Limbs are flexed which scores 2 points.
• Respiration: Infant is crying vigorously, which scores 2 points.

Adding these together, the infant's Apgar score is 9 at 1 minute. This score is considered normal as it is above 7, indicating that the baby is in a good physical state post-delivery.