Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

The GCS is scored between 3 and 15, 3 being the worst and 15 the best. It is composed of three parameters: best eye response (E), best verbal response (V), and best motor response (M). The components of the GCS should be recorded individually; for example, E2V3M4 results in a GCS score of 9.

In the setting of head trauma, a GCS score of 8 or less measured on admission represents severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Traditionally, a GCS score of 9 through 12 has represented moderate TBI, and a GCS score of 13 through 15 mild TBI. However, the recognition that more than one-third of patients with TBI and a GCS score of 13 have potentially life-threatening intracranial lesions has led to a reevaluation of this classification. While a revised classification has not been widely adopted, a GCS score of 9 through 13 likely best represents the TBI population at moderate risk for death or long-term disability.^[1]