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Clinical decision-support tool for qualified healthcare professionals. Results are not a diagnosis and should not replace professional clinical judgment.
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) provides a standardized assessment of consciousness based on three components: Eye Opening (1–4), Verbal Response (1–5), and Motor Response (1–6). The total score ranges from 3 (deep coma or death) to 15 (fully alert and oriented). GCS 13–15 is generally considered mild brain injury, 9–12 moderate, and ≤8 severe. A GCS ≤8 is commonly used as a threshold for considering airway protection, as patients at this level may not maintain a patent airway independently. Several factors can interfere with accurate GCS assessment. Sedation, paralysis, and intoxication can suppress responsiveness independently of brain injury. Intubation precludes verbal assessment; document a modified GCS with the verbal component noted as not testable (VT) and score the remaining components. Aphasia, language barriers, and pre-verbal age affect verbal scoring and should be documented. Always record the best response observed in each component and use serial assessments to track trends. A fall of 2 or more points over time is clinically significant and may indicate neurologic deterioration, which can be more important than any single absolute score.
Specialty
Emergency MedicineCategory
EmergencyDifficulty
Basic
Estimated Time
30 seconds
Version
1.0
Last Updated
2026-08-06
Formula
Keywords
Normal Range
3–15
Provides a standardized measure of the level of consciousness based on eye, verbal, and motor responses, widely used in trauma, neurology, and critical care.
The Glasgow Coma Scale is the sum of the best Eye (1-4), Verbal (1-5), and Motor (1-6) responses, giving a total from 3 (deep coma) to 15 (fully awake).
Best eye-opening response, scored 1 to 4 (1 = none, 4 = spontaneous).
Best verbal response, scored 1 to 5 (1 = none, 5 = oriented).
Best motor response, scored 1 to 6 (1 = none, 6 = obeys commands).
GCS 13–15 is generally considered mild impairment, 9–12 moderate, and ≤ 8 severe. A GCS ≤ 8 is commonly used as a threshold for consideration of airway protection. Scores must be interpreted in the context of sedation, intoxication, and baseline neurologic status, and pediatric verbal scoring differs for pre-verbal children.
The Glasgow Coma Scale is one of the most widely used clinical scales; it standardizes communication about the level of consciousness and correlates with outcome after traumatic brain injury.
A 40-year-old man after a fall opens his eyes to speech, is confused in conversation, and localizes to pain.
Inputs:
Expected Result: GCS = 3 + 4 + 5 = 12, indicating moderate impairment (9–12 range). Serial reassessment is warranted.
GCS 13–15 indicates mild impairment, 9–12 moderate, and 8 or below severe. A GCS of 8 or less is commonly used as a threshold to consider airway protection (intubation).
For pre-verbal children, the verbal component is replaced with an age-appropriate scale (e.g., crying, inconsolable, irritable, cooing, oriented). The eye and motor components remain the same as the adult scale.
A single GCS score is a snapshot. A fall of 2 or more points over time indicates neurologic deterioration and is clinically significant. Serial assessments are more informative than any single measurement.
Yes. Sedation, paralysis, and intubation confound the verbal and sometimes motor components. In these cases, document a modified GCS with the specific components scored, and note the confounding factor.
Disclaimer: This calculator is intended for educational and clinical decision support purposes only. The GCS is one component of neurologic assessment and must be interpreted alongside the full clinical picture.