Glasgow Coma Scale

Glasgow Coma Scale

Eye Opening	E
spontaneous	4
to speech	3
to pain	2
no response	1
Best Motor Response	M
To Verbal Command:
obeys	6
To Painful Stimulus:
localizes pain	5
flexion-withdrawal	4
flexion-abnormal	3
extension	2
no response	1
Best Verbal Response	V
oriented and converses	5
disoriented and converses	4
inappropriate words	3
incomprehensible sounds	2
no response	1

E + M + V = 3 to 15

• 90% less than or equal to 8 are in coma
• Greater than or equal to 9 not in coma
• 8 is the critical score
• Less than or equal to 8 at 6 hours - 50% die
• 9-11 = moderate severity
• Greater than or equal to 12 = minor injury

Coma is defined as: (1) not opening eyes, (2) not obeying commands, and (3) not uttering understandable words.