Neal Cook
The Glasgow Coma Scale: an international standard for education and practice with adults
Cook, Neal; Trout, Ruth; Waterhouse, Catheryne; Braine, Mary; Barrett, Chris; Brennan, Paul; Teasdale, Graham; Hansen, Ole Abildgaard; Caponnetto, Valeria; Santana, Pedro Raúl Castellano; Küçükakgün, Hilalnur; Lynch, Claire; Shepherd, Andrea; Tulek, Zeliha; Wahl, Zoé
Authors
Ruth Trout
Catheryne Waterhouse
Mary Braine
Chris Barrett
Paul Brennan
Graham Teasdale
Ole Abildgaard Hansen
Valeria Caponnetto
Pedro Raúl Castellano Santana
Hilalnur Küçükakgün
Claire Lynch
Andrea Shepherd
Zeliha Tulek
Zoé Wahl
Abstract
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was published in The Lancet in 1974 by Graham Teasdale and Bryan Jennett. Both worked at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, University of Glasgow, giving the scale its name. The original paper, entitled ‘Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness: a practical scale’, introduced a standardised method for assessing the level of consciousness in people with acute brain injury, whether from a traumatic or non-traumatic aetiology. Originally, a 14-point version was published (Teasdale and Jennett, 1974), but it was revised to a 15-point scale in 1977 to incorporate abnormal flexion into the motor response component (Jennett and Teasdale, 1977). In 2014, the scale was further revised and relaunched, still with 15 points (Teasdale et al, 2014a). A key difference then was a focus on pressure, instead of pain, and the introduction of a Not Testable (NT) category for each of the three sections. Although originally developed for use in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), the GCS is now internationally adopted for use in many clinical settings to assess level of consciousness (Matis and Birbilis, 2008; Jain and Iverson, 2022). Its core purpose is to assess arousability, awareness and pattern of motor response, allowing for rapid recognition of neurological deterioration. It is not, however, a tool to be used for all neurological disorders/conditions, for example, in conditions where arousability and awareness are not affected (eg spinal injury, cauda equina).
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Apr 21, 2025 |
| Online Publication Date | Apr 21, 2025 |
| Publication Date | Mar 1, 2025 |
| Deposit Date | May 9, 2025 |
| Journal | British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing |
| Print ISSN | 1747-0307 |
| Publisher | MA Healthcare |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | Sup1c |
| Pages | S1-S36 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.12968/bjnn.2025.21.sup1c.s1 |