The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a clinical diagnostic tool widely used since the 1970s to assess a patient's level of consciousness. While initially primarily utilized in patients with traumatic brain injuries, its utilization has extended to assess the level of consciousness in a wide range of settings, illnesses, and injuries. The GCS score takes into consideration three components: eye movements, verbal response (e.g., speech), and motor response (e.g. purposeful body movements). A GCS score can range from the lowest possible score of 3, in which a patient is completely unresponsive and is associated with a state of coma, to the best score possible of 15, in which a patient is fully alert and interactive. An initial score is used to guide immediate medical care after traumatic brain injury (such as a car accident) and a post-treatment score can monitor hospitalised patients and track their recovery.
The total GCS score is not recommended to be used by itself to predict patient outcomes.
Scoring
The Glasgow Coma Scale is used for people above the age of two and is composed of three tests: eye, verbal, and motor responses. The scores for each of these tests are indicated in the table below.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Glasgow Coma Scale
| Opens eyes in response to voice
| Opens eyes spontaneously
| style="background:#F2F2F2;" | N/A
| style="background:#F2F2F2;" | N/A
|-
! Verbal <br />(oral response)
| Intubation, non-oral language disability, linguistic barrier
| Makes no sounds
| Incomprehensible sounds
| Inappropriate words
| Confused and disoriented, but able to answer questions
| Oriented to time, person, and place, converses normally
| style="background:#F2F2F2;" | N/A
|-
! Motor <br />(motoric response)
| Paralysis/hemiparesis (acquired causes such as post-stroke, post-neurological injury; congenital/innate such as cerebral palsy)
| Makes no movements
| Abnormal extension (decerebrate posture)