Gold Coast Criteria (ALS diagnosis, 2020)

Applies the 2020 Gold Coast criteria for diagnosing ALS.

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

Example

Progressive motor impairment
Yes
Other diseases excluded
Yes
Cervical UMN dysfunction
Yes
Cervical LMN dysfunction
Yes

Result: Gold Coast criteria met

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

What the result means

Required 1
Progressive motor impairment documented by history or repeated clinical assessment, preceded by normal motor function.
Required 2
Either upper- and lower-motor-neuron dysfunction in at least one body region WITH BOTH IN THAT SAME REGION, or lower-motor-neuron dysfunction in at least two regions.
Required 3
Investigations excluding other diseases.
Regions
Bulbar, cervical, thoracic, lumbosacral.
The trap
Upper-motor-neuron signs in one region and lower-motor-neuron signs in a DIFFERENT region satisfy neither limb. Counting UMN and LMN regions separately gets this wrong.
No categories
Gold Coast abolished definite, probable and possible ALS. Those belonged to revised El Escorial and Awaji, and were dropped for increasing uncertainty and costing sensitivity.
Sensitivity
A multicentre comparison: Gold Coast 92 percent, revised El Escorial 88.6 percent, Awaji 90.3 percent.

What you enter

  • Progressive motor impairment
  • Other diseases excluded
  • Bulbar UMN dysfunction
  • Bulbar LMN dysfunction
  • Cervical UMN dysfunction
  • Cervical LMN dysfunction
  • Thoracic UMN dysfunction
  • Thoracic LMN dysfunction
The other 2 fields
  • Lumbosacral UMN dysfunction
  • Lumbosacral LMN dysfunction
How this is calculated

Shefner JM, Al-Chalabi A, Baker MR, et al. A proposal for new diagnostic criteria for ALS. Clin Neurophysiol. 2020;131(8):1975-1978. 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.