Neonatal Early Warning Score: From 1 Different Sources
an assessment tool for newborn babies, consisting of a chart in which a combination of *vital signs, neurological involvement, observation of blue skin and lips, and level of behavioural response indicate the appropriate level of concern. It is colour-coordinated from red to green to enable standardized escalation of concerns about the sick baby.
A method of assessing at birth whether or not a baby requires resuscitation. The newborn is routinely assessed at 1 minute of age and again at 5 minutes, and a value of 0, 1 or 2 given to each of ?ve signs: colour, heart rate, muscle tone, respiratory (or breathing) e?ort, and the response to stimulation. A total score of 7 or more indicates that the newborn child is in excellent condition. An Apgar score of 5 or less at 15 or 20 minutes predicates an increased risk of subsequent CEREBRAL PALSY.... apgar score
A measure of an individual’s or group’s lack of normal social amenities such as proper housing, diet and warmth. It was devised in the 1980s to help assess the medical services needed by a socially deprived population.... deprivation score
Action at an early stage of a disease or social process.... early intervention
Pertaining to the ?rst month of life.... neonatal
The provision of a dedicated unit with special facilities, including one-to-one nursing and appropriate technology, for caring for premature and seriously ill newborn babies. Paediatricians and neonatologists are involved in the running of such units. Not every maternity unit can provide intensive care: for example, the provision of arti?cial ventilation, other than as a holding procedure until a baby can be transferred to a better-equipped and better-serviced unit. Such hospitals tend to have special-care baby units, which are capable of looking after the needs of most, but not all, premature or ill babies.... neonatal intensive care
Score expressed as a deviation from the mean value, in standard deviation units. ... z score
A very common, harmless skin condition, also known as erythema neonatorum or toxic erythema, that affects newborn infants. A blotchy rash, in which raised white or yellow lumps are surrounded by illdefined red areas of inflammation, forms, mainly affecting the face, chest, arms, and thighs. The cause of neonatal urticaria is unknown. The rash usually clears up without treatment.... urticaria, neonatal
a scoring system to assess the state of the maternal cervix and position of the fetal head to determine the ease or difficulty with which labour may be induced.... bishop score
a quantification of the amount of calcium seen in the coronary arteries on a CT scan, calcium being a marker of severe coronary artery disease.... calcium score
a clinical scoring system used to predict the one- and two-year survival rates of patients with chronic liver disease. The score is determined by the assessment of two clinical signs (the presence of ascites and *hepatic encephalopathy) and three biochemical markers (serum bilirubin level, serum albumin level, and prothrombin time).... child–turcotte–pugh score
see perinatal mortality rate.... early neonatal death
(EWS) a system to detect deteriorating patients on the ward. Certain physical parameters are accorded scores: the higher the scores for individual patients, the greater the deterioration in their condition. Parameters scored include blood pressure, respiratory rate, pulse rate, blood oxygen saturation, and level of consciousness. Adjustments can be made for increased age.... early warning system
an assessment tool that predicts a ten-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease based on gender, age, total and HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and smoking, thereby enabling preventative treatment. It does not incorporate the presence of diabetes or familial history of cardiovascular disease into the scoring.... framingham risk score
a numerical score from two to ten, which is the sum of the two *Gleason grades given to the most common and second most common pattern of prostate cancer seen in the tumour.... gleason score
(IPSS) a self-administered questionnaire, completed by men with *lower urinary tract symptoms, which consists of seven questions based on the extent of symptoms and a single quality-of-life question. It gives a numerical score, on a scale of 0 to 35, to indicate the severity of the patient’s symptoms. A score of 0–7 indicates mild symptoms, 8–19 moderate symptoms, and 20–35 severe symptoms. The quality-of-life question is scored from 0–6.... international prostate symptom score
death of a baby between 7 and 27 completed days of life.... late neonatal death
a scoring system used for newborn babies who may be withdrawing from maternal opioids or other (usually nonprescription) drugs. See neonatal abstinence syndrome.... lipsitz score
(NAS) symptoms and signs exhibited by a newborn baby (neonate) due to drug withdrawal (see dependence). This results when the fetus has been exposed to addictive drugs through maternal substance abuse or misuse. Symptoms tend to occur in the first few days of life (in the case of methadone, which is a long-acting opioid, symptom onset may be delayed). They include tremors and jerking, high-pitched crying, sneezing, sucking of fists, feeding difficulties, shortened periods of sleep between feeds, rapid breathing, sweating, loose stools, nasal stuffiness, and frequent yawning. Treatment includes swaddling or snugly wrapping in a blanket, as babies with NAS are often difficult to comfort. Other nonpharmacological measures include frequent small feeds using high-calorie formula and intravenous fluids if babies become dehydrated. Drug therapy may be used for seizures and withdrawal symptoms.... neonatal abstinence syndrome
see infant mortality rate.... neonatal mortality rate
*screening tests carried out on newborn babies to detect diseases that appear in the neonatal period, such as phenylketonuria (see Guthrie test). If these diseases are detected early enough, treatment may be instigated before any irreversible damage occurs to the baby.... neonatal screening
teeth that emerge through the gingiva (gums) during the first month of life.... neonatal teeth
see erythema.... neonatal urticaria
a measure of bone mineral density used to evaluate the degree of bone thinning detected on *DEXA scanning. An individual’s T score is the number of standard deviations above or below the mean reference value for young healthy adults. By convention, a score above –1 is considered normal, a score between –1 and –2.5 indicates osteopenia, and a score below –2.5 indicates *osteoporosis.... t score
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