High School

Ted was a passenger in an automobile accident and was thrown several feet from the car. A neurologist has been assessing Ted's level of consciousness using the Glasgow Coma Scale. Ted's most recent score was a 10. What does this indicate?

A) Ted has suffered a moderate head injury
B) Ted has suffered a mild head injury
C) Ted is in a coma
D) Ted has suffered no brain damage from the accident

Answer :

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a tool used by healthcare professionals to assess a person's level of consciousness, often after a head injury. It helps gauge the severity of an injury by assigning a score based on three categories: eye-opening response, verbal response, and motor response.

Each category is scored separately, and the total score can range from 3 (deep coma or death) to 15 (fully awake person).

Ted's most recent GCS score was a 10. Here's a breakdown of what different score ranges generally indicate:

  1. Mild head injury: GCS score of 13-15. This suggests that while there may be some injury, it's less severe.

  2. Moderate head injury: GCS score of 9-12. This range indicates a moderate level of injury. Ted's score of 10 places him in this category, which means he has suffered a moderate head injury.

  3. Severe head injury: GCS score of 8 or below. This range can indicate a state of coma.

Based on the above, the correct interpretation for Ted’s score is (A) Ted has suffered a moderate head injury.