My question is this: She said that APGAR stands for "adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, and resolve", referring to a family assessment instrument. My Davis Abbreviations book lists APGAR as "appearance (color), pulse (heart rate), grimace (reflex irritability), activity (muscle tone), and respiration", and says that it is a "score reflecting the condition of a newborn".

So is my Davis book wrong? The person who corrected me says that "Apgar" is named after Virginia Apgar, who developed this method of assessment, and therefore should not be capitalized. I believe that. However, why does my Davis book list it as an acronym?

If she's right, I've been doing this wrong for YEARS! Any input on this?

P.S.--To the person who corrected me: I hope you know that I value your opinion a LOT! I only posted this question because I hadn't heard back from you yet.

Thanks,
Lori

Also in Pyle's book...Apgar score (lower case the letters here, but it also is named for Dr. Virginia Apgar). The Apgar score is the "rating of the condition of the newborn infant, performed at one and five minutes after birth. The criteria are color, heart rate, respiration, reflex response to nose catheter, and muscle tone."

Confusing, isn't it.

Apgar
Virginia, U.S. anesthesiologist, 1909–1974. See: Apgar score.

Apgar score
evaluation of a newborn infant's physical status by assigning numerical values (0 to 2) to each of 5 criteria: 1) heart rate, 2) respiratory effort, 3) muscle tone, 4) response stimulation, and 5) skin color; a score of 8 to 10 indicates the best possible condition.

I have always seen it as Apgar in our reports. I assumed it was because it was named after the M.D. of that name. We haven't had OB in our hospital for several years, maybe it's changed since then.

I'm glad to get that cleared up!

Lori