The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury. Basically, it is used to help gauge the severity of an acute brain injury. The test is simple, reliable, and correlates well with outcome following severe brain injury. Show
The GCS is a reliable and objective way of recording the initial and subsequent level of consciousness in a person after a brain injury. It is used by trained staff at the site of an injury like a car crash or sports injury, for example, and in the emergency department and intensive care units. The GCS measures the following functions: Eye Opening (E)
Verbal Response (V)
Motor Response (M)
Clinicians use this scale to rate the best eye opening response, the best verbal response, and the best motor response an individual makes. The final GCS score or grade is the sum of these numbers. Using the Glasgow Coma ScaleA patient's Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) should be documented on a coma scale chart. This allows for improvement or deterioration in a patient's condition to be quickly and clearly communicated. Individual elements, as well as the sum of the score, are important. The individual elements of a patient's GCS can be documented numerically (e.g. E2V4M6) as well as added together to give a total Coma Score (e.g E2V4M6 = 12). For example, a score may be expressed as GCS 12 = E2 V4 M6 at 4:32. Every brain injury is different, but generally, brain injury is classified as:
Mild brain injuries can result in temporary or permanent neurological symptoms and neuroimaging tests such as CT scan or MRI may or may not show evidence of any damage. Moderate and severe brain injuries often result in long-term impairments in cognition (thinking skills), physical skills, and/or emotional/behavioral functioning. Limitations of the Glasgow Coma ScaleFactors like drug use, alcohol intoxication, shock, or low blood oxygen can alter a patient’s level of consciousness. These factors could lead to an inaccurate score on the GCS. Children and the Glasgow Coma ScaleThe GCS is usually not used with children, especially those too young to have reliable language skills. The Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale, or PGCS, a modification of the scale used on adults, is used instead. The PGCS still uses the three tests — eye, verbal, and motor responses — and the three values are considered separately as well as together. Here is the slightly altered grading scale for the PGCS: Eye Opening (E)
Verbal Response (V)
Motor Response (M)
Pediatric brain injuries are classified by severity using the same scoring levels as adults, i.e. 8 or lower reflecting the most severe, 9-12 being a moderate injury and 13-15 indicating a mild TBI. As in adults, moderate and severe injuries often result in significant long-term impairments. Posted on BrainLine February 13, 2018. Reviewed June 8, 2022. Reviewed and revised 12 October 2019 OVERVIEW
CALCULATION OF GCS Eye response (E)
Verbal response (V)
Motor response (M)
USES
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES Problems with the use of GCS
Problems with performing GCS
Problems with accuracy and validity of GCS
ALTERNATIVES
MY APPROACH
VIDEOS Videos by Jake Timothy (Consultant Neurosurgeon) and Sir Graham Teasdale (professor of Neurosurgery) on the history and use of GCS:
References and LinksJournal articles
FOAM and web resources
Chris NicksonChris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives. After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education. He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference. His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children. On Twitter, he is @precordialthump. | INTENSIVE | RAGE | Resuscitology | SMACC Which score is awarded to a patient who is the best motor response is abnormal extension according to the Glasgow Coma Scale?
Which score is awarded to a patient whose best verbal response is uttering inappropriate words according to the Glasgow Coma Scale?Best verbal response - maximum score of 5. Eye opening - maximum score of 4.
Which Glasgow Coma Scale score indicates that the client is in a coma?The GCS is the summation of scores for eye, verbal, and motor responses. The minimum score is a 3 which indicates deep coma or a brain-dead state. The maximum is 15 which indicates a fully awake patient (the original maximum was 14, but the score has since been modified).
Which cranial nerve has both sensory and motor functions quizlet select all that apply?Cranial Nerve VII has both sensory and motor functions.
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