Table 1.
An Apgar scale for rodents
| Parameters | Spontaneous delivered pups (n = 51; m = 38) | Caesarean-delivered pups (0 min asphyxia) (n = 760; m = 176) | 20 min asphyxia (n = 923; m = 177) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body weight (g) | 6.17 ± 0.14 | 5.49 ± 0.08 | 5.52 ± 0.11 |
| Sex (% of males) | 49.2 ± 6.2 | 49.2 ± 5.8 | 41.2 ± 3 |
| Rate of survival (%) | 98.48 ± 1.52 | 99.52 ± 0.24 | 64 ± 3 |
| Respiratory frequency (events x min−1) | 69 ± 2 | 67 ± 1 | 18 ± 1 |
| Presence of gasping (yes; %) | 0 ± 0 | 0.43 ± 0.32 | 78 ± 8 |
| Skin colour | |||
| Pink | 97.37 ± 2.63% | 96.76 ± 1.21% | 1.04 ± 0.62% |
| Pink-blue | 2.63 ± 2.63% | 3.1 ± 1.18% | 62.03 ± 3.51% |
| Blue-pink | 0 ± 0% | 0.14 ± 0.14% | 36.17 ± 3.46% |
| Blue | 0 ± 0% | 0 ± 0% | 0.75 ± 0.58% |
| Presence of vocalizations (yes, %) | 100 ± 0% | 99.71 ± 0.29% | 0 ± 0% |
| Spontaneous movements | |||
| No movements, akinesia, rigidity (0) (%) | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 99 ± 1 |
| Single movements of front legs, or head alone (1) (%) | 0 ± 0 | 0 ± 0 | 1 ± 1 |
| Movements of two body structures (2) (%) | 0 ± 0 | 0.14 ± 0.14 | 0 ± 0 |
| Movements of all body structures (3) % | 23 ± 3.23 | 1.45 ± 0.73 | 0 ± 0 |
| Intensive movements shown by wriggling (4) % | 96.77 ± 3.23 | 98.27 ± 0.78 | 0 ± 0 |
| Lack of reception by surrogate dams (at 24 h) (%) | 18.5 ± 6.2 | 21.1 ± 6.2 | 20.9 ± 6.2 |
Apgar scale for evaluating the consequences of perinatal asphyxia 40–80 min after birth. Data expressed as the mean ± SEM (n number of pups; m number of dams)