title: Predictive value of Apgar score in infants with very low birth weight.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accurate prediction of the prognosis of infants with very low birth weight is beneficial both for their parents and for healthcare professionals.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a population-based study of all low-birth-weight infants admitted to neonatal units in one region in Japan. The Apgar score at 1 and 5 min and neonatal mortality were retrospectively analyzed to obtain the predictive values of the scores. The results were stratified into two categories by birth weight and three time periods (1980-1986, 1987-1993 and 1994-2000).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The predictive values improved in the later years, and therefore only the data obtained in the period 1994-2000 were used. A score of less than 5 at 5 min appears to be a good predictor of neonatal mortality in infants with a birth weight between 1500 g and 2499 g (positive likelihood ratio, 17.59 [95% confidence interval (CI) 12.68-24.40]); however, there is no evidence that the score is a good predictor of neonatal mortality in infants with very low birth weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In infants with a low birth weight between 1500 g and 2499 g, an Apgar score at 5 min of less than 5 is a good predictor of neonatal mortality. The score is not useful in predicting the short-term prognosis of very low-birth-weight infants.
authors.affiliation: Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Osaka, Japan. rintaromori@gmail.com
authors.forename: Rintaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: Hirokuni
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Negishi
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimura
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007229:Infant Welfare; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity