Glasgow Coma Scale

A 29-year-old woman was an unbelted passenger in a motor vehicle accident. On arrival to the hospital, the paramedics inform you that she opens her eyes in response to verbal stimuli. She is incoherent and withdraws from painful stimuli. Which of the following is the patient’s calculated Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?

• a.15
• b.3
• c.9
• d.5
• e.12

The answer is (C). The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is often used to quantify consciousness and assess cerebral cortex and brain stem function by assessing the patient’s verbal response, motor response, and eye opening response to stimuli.
It may be repeated at intervals to detect improvement or deterioration and is now widely used in coma assessment. The minimum score is 3 and the maximum score is 15.
Three behaviors are assessed in the GCS: