The Glasgow Coma Scale and Contemporary Neurotrauma Care

Neurological examination is the mainstay of care of critically ill patients. 1The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was originally proposed in 1974 by Graham Teasdale and Bryan Jennett and has been a front-running instrument for over four decades to measure the level of consciousness of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. 2Because it is easy to perform, simple, and reproducible, the GCS became a part of emergency departments, intensive care units, and prehospital care in all corners of the world. 3But with the days of rapidly changing neurocritical care, there are numerous clinicians and scientists questioning now: is GCS still adequate enough to meet the expectations of modern-day practice, or is it not required anymore to be the gold standard? 4