For older children, use the standard Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). INSTRUCTIONS Use for children 2 years and younger only. The Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale, or PGCS, a modification of the scale used on adults, is used instead. Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (pGCS) - MDCalc Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (pGCS) Assesses impaired consciousness and coma in pediatric patients. Children and the Glasgow Coma Scale The GCS is usually not used with younger children, especially those too young to have reliable language skills. These factors could lead to an inaccurate score on the GCS. Limitations of the Glasgow Coma Scale Factors like drug use, alcohol intoxication, shock, or low blood oxygen can alter a patient’s level of consciousness. Moderate and severe brain injuries often result in long-term impairments in cognition (thinking skills), physical skills, and/or emotional/behavioral functioning. Mild brain injuries can result in temporary or permanent neurological symptoms and a neuro-imaging tests such as CT scan or MRI may or may not show evidence of any damage. Severe: GCS 3-8 (You cannot score lower than a 3.).Using the Glasgow Coma Scale Every brain injury is different, but generally, brain injury is classified as: The final GCS score or grade is the sum of these numbers. 2 = decerebrate (an abnormal posture that can include rigidity, arms and legs held straight out, toes pointed downward, head and neck arched backwards)Ĭlinicians use this scale to rate the best eye opening response, the best verbal response, and the best motor response an individual makes.3 = decorticate posture (an abnormal posture that can include rigidity, clenched fists, legs held straight out, and arms bent inward toward the body with the wrists and fingers bend and held on the chest).Los Angeles, CA Region – Pediatric Hospital.The three values separately as well as their sum are considered. Our Complex Care and Rehabilitation Professionals As with the GCS, the PGCS comprises three tests: eye, verbal and motor responses.The computed tomographic findings also were important in determining injury severity and predicting outcome. Furthermore, the predictive critical score of the Glasgow Coma Scale should be set at 5 for pediatric traumatic brain injury. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1985 and Morray JP, Tyler DC, Jones TK, et al: Coma scale for use in brain-injured children. Thus, the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (Reilly, Simpson. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1987 James H, Anas N, Perkin RM: Brain Insults in Infants and Children. This is due to the verbal performance component which is likely to be poor in even a healthy child. In Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care, edited by MC Rogers. Of the factors analyzed, the score of the Glasgow Coma Scale was the most effective predictor for outcome in pediatric traumatic brain injury. Adapted from Davis RJ et al: Head and spinal cord injury. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is scored between 3 and 15, with 3 being the worst and 15 the best. In injuries associated with traumatic brain injuries, only chest trauma had a tendency to be associated with poor outcome (P < 0.05). However, cortical lesions did not affect injury severity and outcome. Subarachnoid hemorrhage with brain swelling and edema, subdural, intracerebral hemorrhage, and basal ganglion lesions were associated with severe injury and poor outcome (P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that a critical point of the Glasgow Coma Scale set at 5 was most strongly correlated with outcome of pediatric traumatic brain injury. Acknowledgments: The Child’s Glasgow Coma Scale has evolved from adaptations to Jennett and Teasdale’s Glasgow Coma Scale (1), by James and Trauner (2), Eyre and Sharples and by Tatman, Warren and Whitehouse (3), and paediatric nurse colleagues, Kirkham and the British Paediatric Neurology Association GCS Audit Group. Performance of the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale Score in the evaluation of children with blunt head trauma. Borgialli DA, Mahajan P, Hoyle JD Jr, et al. Each subject underwent the following assessments: Glasgow Coma Scale clinical data brain computed tomography and Glasgow Outcome Scale assessments. Triage scoring systems, severity of illness measures, and mortality prediction models in pediatric trauma. A total of 309 children, aged 2-10 years, were enrolled in this study. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is scored between 3 and 15, with 3 being the worst and 15 the best. The aim of this study is to determine the predictive critical value of the Glasgow Coma Scale for use as a determinant of outcome for children with traumatic brain injuries.

Pediatric glasgow coma scale