Glasgow coma scale (GCS)

From Aaushi
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Indications

Procedure

  • consciousness may be assessed by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS).
  • points are assigned & totaled based upon the patient's response to stimuli
  • range: 3 (unresponsive) to 15 (normal).
type of response response points
Eye opening spontaneous 4
Eye opening to voice 3
Eye opening to painful stimuli 2
Eye opening never 1
Verbal responses oriented 5
Verbal responses confused 4
Verbal responses inappropriate words 3
Verbal responses unintelligible sounds 2
Verbal responses none 1
Motor responses follows commands 6
Motor responses localizes pain 5
Motor responses withdraws from pain 4
Motor responses flexor response 3
Motor responses extensor response 2
Motor responses none 1

Interpretation

Notes

  • elderly with a GCS of 14 have a worse prognosis than young adults with a GCS score of 13[2]
  • simple finding of 'patient does not follow commands' is as predictive as Glascow Coma Scale[3]

More general terms

Additional terms

References

  1. Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 16 American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2012
  2. Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Caterino JM et al. Modification of Glasgow Coma Scale criteria for injured elders. Acad Emerg Med 2011 Oct; 18:1014 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21951715
  3. Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Hopkins E, Green SM, Kiemeney M, Haukoos JS. A two-center validation of "patient does not follow commands" and three other simplified measures to replace the Glasgow Coma Scale for field trauma triage. Ann Emerg Med 2018 May 2 PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29729813 https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(18)30312-3/fulltext