Glasgow Coma Scale
Assessment of Level of Consciousness
Result
Verbal component not testable. When a component cannot be assessed, the total GCS sum is invalid. Record and report the components separately.
Eye Opening (E): • Verbal Response (V): • Motor Response (M):
See how to interpret this result in the table below
Interpretation
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was developed and standardized for the assessment and classification of the severity of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Outside the context of TBI, however, it is widely used as a descriptive tool for level of consciousness, assisting clinical decision-making.
In TBI — ATLS and Brain Trauma Foundation
| Score | Classification |
|---|---|
| 13 – 15 | Mild TBI |
| 9 – 12 | Moderate TBI |
| 3 – 8 | Severe TBI |
In other clinical scenarios — descriptive use (scale not standardized for this purpose)
| Score | Classification |
|---|---|
| 15 | Consciousness intact on behavioral examination |
| 13 – 14 | Mild depression of consciousness |
| 9 – 12 | Moderate depression of consciousness |
| 3 – 8 | Severe depression of consciousness |
Note: The GCS threshold of ≤ 8 is widely used in guidelines as a reference point for considering advanced airway management, but is not an absolute rule — the decision must be individualized. The application of the GCS may be limited by sedation, prior intubation, aphasia, and pre-existing neurological deficits. When a component cannot be assessed, the total sum is invalid; report the components separately with appropriate notation (e.g. VNT for verbal not testable). It is recommended to always record the total score together with the component notation (e.g. GCS 11 = E3V3M5).