Criteria
Clinical scoring system for assessing the degree of respiratory distress in the newborn[51]
In infants with respiratory distress, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) scores should be assessed on an hourly basis after admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Infants with RDS scores <4 for over 2 hours usually resolve without any problem.
Infants with scores of 4 to 6 have mild respiratory distress.
Infants with scores >6 will develop severe respiratory distress.
Higher scores correlate with decrease in oxygenation and pH.
Although these scores were studied in infants with RDS, they are useful in assessing any newborn with respiratory distress.
[Figure caption and citation for the preceding image starts]: Clinical scoring system for assessing the degree of respiratory distress in the newborn. The physician after assessing the baby using the 5 signs in the left column gives a score of 0 (normal), 1 (mild distress), or 2 (severe distress). Scores for all 5 signs are added, a score of 0 being a normal baby and a score of 10 being very sick. Scores in between correspond to mild to moderate distressCreated by Dr Vidyasagar and Dr Bhat [Citation ends].
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