Hughes Functional Grading Scale (GBS disability)
Records disability in Guillain-Barre syndrome on the standard 0-6 functional grading scale (Hughes 1978).
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Functional grade
- 3 - walks 10 meters only with help
Result: Hughes grade 3 of 6 - able to walk 10 meters with help. At or above grade 3, so independent walking is lost.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- 0 to 2
- 0 healthy; 1 minor symptoms but able to run; 2 walks 10 meters unaided but cannot run. Independent walking retained.
- 3 to 6
- 3 walks 10 meters only with help; 4 bedridden or wheelchair-bound; 5 needs assisted ventilation; 6 death.
- Threshold
- Grade 3 or above is what the literature counts as disability, because it is where independent walking is lost.
- Why it matters
- This is the scale mEGOS predicts at six months, and EGRIS predicts the step to grade 5.
- Scope
- A functional state at one moment. Not a prognosis or a treatment decision, and it captures no sensory symptoms or pain.
What you enter
- Functional grade (0-6)
How this is calculated
Hughes RA, Newsom-Davis JM, Perkin GD, Pierce JM. Controlled trial of prednisolone in acute polyneuropathy. Lancet. 1978;2(8093):750-753. Grade definitions as reproduced across the GBS outcome literature. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.