Thursday 17 May 2018

Risk of Cerebral Palsy or Epilepsy in Neonates predicted by Apgar Scores

The risk of a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy or epilepsy can be predicted by an infant's scores on the so- called Apgar Scale. Researchers had observed that the risk rises with decreasing Apgar score, & the lowered scores can be linked to a higher risk of these diagnoses.

Apgar is a point system routinely used at birth to assess a neonates vitality at one, five and ten minutes after birth and the apgar score provides an accepted and convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately after birth and the response to resuscitation if needed . The scale range can be used to predict the risk of CP or epilepsy. Apgar also measures the baby's color, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone and respiratory effort. If the scale ranges between 0 and 10, it indicates that child is in full health & if it ranges between 0 and 6 points at one or five minutes after birth is linked to a higher risk of CP & epilepsy, & a very low score of 0 and 3 points at ten minutes indicates a significantly higher risk of CP. Apgar score cannot be considered to be evidence of or a consequence of asphyxia, does not predict individual neonatal mortality or neurologic outcome,& shouldn't be used for that purpose.

Apgar score is considered as a tool for standardized assessment and also provides a mechanism to record fetal-to-neonatal transition & do not predict individual mortality or adverse neurologic outcome.
To know more, please click here




No comments:

Post a Comment