The Apgar score in clinical research: For what, how and by whom it is used

Abstract

Objectives: To review how the Apgar score is used in published clinical research as well as who uses it, and how this may have changed between 1989-90 and 2018-19. Methods: Pubmed search for English publications using MeSH Terms "apgar score"OR "apgar"AND "score"AND "humans"for epochs 1989-90 & 2018-19. The location and specialty of first author, primary purpose and how the Apgar score was used was recorded. Results: There was a 61% increase in number of publications in 2018-19 compared to 1989-90, from all regions except North America. The most common purpose for using the Apgar was to assess newborn status after pregnancy/delivery interventions. There were 50 different definitions of a significant score. Definition of significance was influenced by specialty in 2018-19 and by study purpose in both epochs. Conclusions: Most studies using the Apgar score are focused on the mother. There is no consistent definition of a significant score. Development of any future newborn assessment tools should account for the multiple purposes for which the Apgar score is used.