This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The Glasgow coma scale measures 3 different types of response. These are:

  • best motor response - 6 grades
  • best verbal response - 5 grades
  • eye opening - 4 grades

An overall score is made by summing the score in the 3 assessed areas. The lowest possible score is 3. The maximum is 15.

Generally in managing patients, a score of 8 is felt to be the threshold - less than 8 implies a significant problem.

Notes (1):

  • monitoring and exchange of information about individual patients should be based on the three separate responses on the Glasgow Coma Scale (for example, a patient scoring 13 based on scores of 4 on eye-opening, 4 on verbal response and 5 on motor response should be communicated as E4, V4, M5)
  • if a total score is recorded or communicated, it should be based on a sum of 15, and to avoid confusion this denominator should be specified (for example, 13/15)
  • individual components of the GCS should be described in all communications and every note and should always accompany the total score
  • the paediatric version of the Glasgow Coma Scale should include a 'grimace' alternative to the verbal score to facilitate scoring in pre-verbal children

Reference:

  1. NICE (September 2007). Head injury guideline

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.