Question

In determining the one minute Apgar score of a male infant, the nurse assesses a heart rate of 120 per min, respiration, a loud cry with stimulation, good muscle tone, and acrocyanotic color. What score should the nurse assign?

1) 7
2) 8
3) 9
4) 10

Answer 1

In the provided scenario, the male infant's Apgar score would be 9, with points deducted only for skin color due to acrocyanosis. A score of 8 or above is considered normal.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Apgar score is determined by assessing five criteria: skin color, heart rate, reflex, muscle tone, and respiration. In the scenario provided, the male infant has a heart rate of 120 per minute (score of 2), a loud cry with stimulation indicating good respiration (score of 2), good muscle tone (score of 2), and acrocyanotic color meaning there is some blue discoloration in extremities (score of 1). The fifth criterion, reflex irritability (grimace), is not explicitly mentioned, but based on the infant's loud cry upon stimulation, we can infer a normal response yielding a score of 2. These scores sum to a total Apgar score of 9.