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Current use of the Apgar score in the labour ward for resuscitation and referral of newborn babies
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge of the current users of the Apgar score in the labour ward.
Study Design, Setting and Subjects: The study was a cross-sectional survey using semi-structured self-administered questionnaires. The setting was the labour ward of a Nigerian Teaching Hospital in July and August 2004. The subjects studied were all current users of the Apgar score, labour ward personnel. The participants were presented with a hypothetical clinical scenario of a newborn baby and requested to score the baby and answer a question on the use of intubation.
Results: A majority, 36 (64.3%), of the 56 study subjects missed the Apgar score. The Paediatric residents were more 2 accurate in scoring the scenario baby. [χ2 = 14.48, p<0.002]. Accurate scoring (correct knowledge) of the Apgar score increased sharply from those with 2 to 5 years' experience to those with 10 years' experience. All users, except the Paediatric residents, wrongly prescribed intubation as intervention for the baby. Almost all the users 53/56 (94.64%) responded that Apgar score was a useful tool in the evaluation of the newborn. Conclusion: There is a high level of inaccurate use of the Apgar score amongst labour ward personnel, with a high
inter-observer and subspecialty variation in assigning the Apgar score. An unrelenting raining of users is necessary for the correct use of the Apgar score.
Keywords: Apgar score, special care baby unit, inaccurate use
Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Vol. 22(1) 2005: 46-49
