The Apgar Score. Is it still valid after a half century?

In 1952, Virginia Apgar MD, proposed to assess the clinical condition of newborns, during the first minutes of life and to evaluate anesthetic and obstetrical practices. She proposed five objectives and easily measured clinical signs: cardiac frequency, respiratory effort, muscle tone, irritability and color. The test was later named "Apgar Score Test". Since then, all newborns are evaluated using Apgar score. This article reviews the uses and abuses of Apgar test. It has been used to assess asphyxia, predict neurological damage, to identify newborns that require reanimation and as a survival predictor. It is concluded that Apgar score is useful to know the vitality of a newborn during his first minutes of life. It is a background, that along with acid base state and evolution, allows the diagnosis of asphyxia and predicts survival. Therefore, after half a century of use, it still remains useful.