A tool to support the clinical decisions of doctors and health professionals, not for self-diagnosis or self-treatment.
This calculator is inside the patient's file in Clinicato: open it from "Medical tools" while you chart the visit, it fills in from the patient's details and vital signs where they are recorded, and adds its result to the visit's plan in one tap, with the "Medical tools" add-on. Try it in your clinic
Calculator
How it works and when to use it
The scale adds three responses: eye opening 1 to 4, verbal response 1 to 5 and motor response 1 to 6, so the total runs from 3 to 15, and it is always written with its components, such as E3 V4 M5, because the total alone hides important detail.
In head injury the total is graded mild 13 to 15, moderate 9 to 12 and severe 3 to 8, and when a component cannot be tested, such as speech in an intubated patient, it is written NT and no total is given.
GCS-P takes the pupils' reactivity off the total: 0 when both react, 1 when one does not, 2 when neither does, so it runs from 1 to 15.
Reference: Teasdale G, Jennett B. Lancet 1974;2:81-4; Teasdale G et al. The Glasgow Coma Scale at 40 years. Lancet Neurol 2014;13:844-54; GCS-P: Brennan PM, Murray GD, Teasdale GM. J Neurosurg 2018;128:1612-20; severity of head injury: mild 13-15, moderate 9-12, severe 3-8
Frequently asked questions
Which motor response is recorded when the two sides differ?
The best response obtained, with the difference between the sides documented separately, since it may point to a focal injury.
Can the scale be used in young children?
Children under two are assessed with the paediatric version of the verbal response, since they do not yet speak like older children.
Why is there no total when a component is NT?
Scoring an untested component as 1 lowers the total for no reason and misleads whoever reads the file, so the testable components are written with NT.
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Try Clinicato for your clinic
These calculators are free here for everyone, and in Clinicato 49 medical tools work inside the patient's file with the "Medical tools" add-on: filled from the visit and the vital signs, with the result added to the visit's plan, next to appointments, prescriptions and invoices.