Glasgow coma scale

Good to know

The score is charted as components, not just the sum. A 9 built from E2 V2 M5 and a 9 built from E4 V1 M4 are different patients. The E, V, and M numbers tell the story; the total is a shorthand that throws most of it away. Chart all three, every time.

Trend matters more than a single number. One reading is a snapshot. What earns a call is the change: a patient who was E4 V5 M6 an hour ago and is E3 V4 M5 now is the finding, even though 12 on its own is not dramatic.

Intubation is the classic Not Testable case. An intubated patient cannot give a verbal response, so the verbal component is recorded as NT rather than scored 1. Scoring it 1 invents a lower total and makes the patient look worse than the assessment supports. Swelling that holds an eye closed and paralytics or a spinal injury that block movement are the other common ones.

Not Testable removes the total, on purpose. When any component is NT, this page shows the component notation only. That matches the guidance to report components rather than a sum that would read as artificially low.

The bands you will see quoted

The commonly used bands are 13 to 15 mild, 9 to 12 moderate, and 3 to 8 severe. They come from head-injury literature and are shown here only as the common labeling. They are not a triage rule and they are not a substitute for your protocol. What the number means for this patient, right now, is the provider's call.

The lowest possible score is 3, not 0. Every component starts at 1, so a fully unresponsive patient with all three testable scores E1 V1 M1.

Check for yourself that nothing is sent anywhere

You don't have to take our word for it. Every browser has a built-in panel that shows everything a page sends or receives over the internet. On a computer (this doesn't work on a phone):

1. Press F12, or right-click anywhere on this page and choose Inspect.
2. In the panel that opens, click the Network tab.
3. Now use the tool: pick an eye, verbal, and motor response.
4. Watch the Network list. Nothing appears, because the responses you picked are never sent anywhere. The score is worked out entirely on your own computer.

Glasgow Coma Scale reproduced with acknowledgment of Sir Graham Teasdale and the University of Glasgow. Criterion wording follows the 2014 structured approach published at glasgowcomascale.org.