The Glasgow Coma Scale

What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?

The Glasgow Coma Scale, or Glasgow Coma Score, is a neurological scale that was designed to give doctors a reliable, objective way of recording the conscious state of someone that has suffered a head or brain injury. A patient is assessed according to the abilities in the "Area Assessed" column of the scale, and the resulting points give a patient a score between 3 (indicating deep unconsciousness) and 15 (indicating mild brain injury).

GCS was initially used to assess level of consciousness after head injury, and the scale is now used by first aid, EMS and doctors as being applicable to all acute medical and trauma patients. In hospital it is also used in chronic patient monitoring, in for instance, intensive care.

Area Asessed:
Eye opening

Open spontaneously: 4

Open to verbal command: 3

Open in response to pain applied
to the limbs or sternum: 2

None: 1

Area Assessed:
Verbal

Oriented: 5

Disoriented, but able to answer
questions: 4


Inappropriate answers to
questions; words discernible: 3

Incomprehensible speech: 2

None: 1

Area Assessed:
Motor

Obeys commands: 6

Responds to pain with purposeful
movement: 5


Withdraws from pain stimuli: 4

Responds to pain with abnormal
flexion (decorticate posture): 3

Responds to pain with abnormal
(rigid) extension (decerebrate posture): 2

None: 1

TOTALS:

14 or 15 is mild TBI
9 to 13 is moderate TBI
3 to 8 is severe TBI

Combined scores < 8 are typically regarded as coma.

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