Glasgow Coma Scale

Glasgow Coma Scale: eye opening (1-4) + best verbal (1-5) + best motor (1-6); total 3-15 with severity band (>=13 mild, 9-12 moderate, <=8 severe).

Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.

Example

Eye opening
3
Best verbal response
4
Best motor response
5

Result: GCS 12

The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.

What the result means

13-15
Mild brain injury per Teasdale & Jennett.
9-12
Moderate brain injury per Teasdale & Jennett.
3-8
Severe brain injury per Teasdale & Jennett (GCS <=8 is the conventional threshold for considering definitive airway protection).

What you enter

  • Eye opening (1-4)
  • Best verbal response (1-5)
  • Best motor response (1-6)

What this is

Score the Glasgow Coma Scale on its three components - eye opening (1-4), verbal response (1-5), and motor response (1-6) - and return the total (3-15) plus the conventional severity band (severe <=8, moderate 9-12, mild 13-15). Sophie Well reports each component separately because most modern trauma documentation expects the broken-out E/V/M, not just the sum. Source: Teasdale & Jennett, Lancet 1974.

When to use it

Use GCS for serial neuro checks after head injury, stroke, intoxication, or any altered mental status, and as one input into trauma triage and ICU prognostic scores. The GCS is a screening instrument, not a substitute for a focused neuro exam or imaging; a normal GCS does not rule out intracranial pathology, and a depressed GCS does not specify its cause.

How this is calculated

Teasdale G, Jennett B. Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness. Lancet. 1974;2(7872):81-84. Read the source ↗

A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.

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Built by Clay Good. Source on GitHub.