If a newborn male is presented with central cyanosis and limpness, what is his APGAR score likely to be if vital signs indicate a pulse of 60 and a respiration rate of 0?

The APGAR score is a quick assessment tool used to evaluate the health of a newborn shortly after birth based on five criteria: Appearance (skin color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace response (reflexes), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration (breathing effort). Each of these criteria is scored from 0 to 2, with a maximum total score of 10.

In this scenario, the newborn male presents with central cyanosis (indicative of poor oxygenation), is limp (indicating poor muscle tone), has a pulse rate of 60 (which is below the normal threshold of 100 beats per minute, hence scores only 1), and has a respiration rate of 0 (which signifies no breathing effort; this scores a 0).

For the APGAR criteria:

• Appearance: Central cyanosis scores 0.

• Pulse: A heart rate of 60 scores 1.

• Grimace response: Since there’s no indication of reflex response, this likely scores 0.

• Activity: Being limp indicates no muscle tone, so this scores 0.

• Respiration: With a respiratory rate of 0, this scores 0.

Summing these scores gives:

• Appearance: 0