🧒 Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
Score the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) for infants and children to assess level of consciousness.
Clinical takeaway
Infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) use modified verbal and motor descriptors.
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When to use
Assess and trend consciousness in pediatric trauma and acute illness; record the EVM components.
How it works
Eye(1–4) + Verbal(1–5, infant-adapted) + Motor(1–6, infant-adapted) = 3–15. ≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild.
Key points
- Infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) use modified verbal and motor descriptors.
- GCS ≤ 8 indicates high airway risk — consider intubation.
- The motor item is most informative in pre-verbal/intubated children.
References
Decision support for licensed clinicians only; not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or local protocols.
Worked calculation
The values below come from this tool's own example placeholders and are computed server-side with the formula shown on this page, so the arithmetic can be checked quickly. It demonstrates how to substitute values only — it is not clinical advice and not a real case.
| Eye opening (E) | Spontaneous (4) |
|---|---|
| Verbal (V) | child / infant | Oriented / coos, babbles, smiles (5) |
| Motor (M) | child / infant | Obeys commands / spontaneous purposeful movement (6) |
→Pediatric GCS15 (E4V5M6)
- Total：15 (E4 V5 M6) → Mild (≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild)
- Action：Mild: observe, serial GCS; correlate with mechanism and other findings
- Note：In infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) verbal and motor items use the modified scale; the motor item is most valuable in intubated/pre-verbal children. Record components (EVM) and total. Sedation, paralysis and hypoxia affect the score
| Eye opening (E) | None (1) |
|---|---|
| Verbal (V) | child / infant | None (1) |
| Motor (M) | child / infant | None (1) |
→Pediatric GCS3 (E1V1M1)
- Total：3 (E1 V1 M1) → Severe (coma) (≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild)
- Action：GCS ≤ 8: high risk for airway compromise (consider intubation), neuro-emergency assessment and imaging, intensive monitoring; significant mortality risk
- Note：In infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) verbal and motor items use the modified scale; the motor item is most valuable in intubated/pre-verbal children. Record components (EVM) and total. Sedation, paralysis and hypoxia affect the score
Frequently asked questions
- What is Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?
- Score the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) for infants and children to assess level of consciousness.
- How is Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) calculated? What is the core formula?
- Eye(1–4) + Verbal(1–5, infant-adapted) + Motor(1–6, infant-adapted) = 3–15. ≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild.
- When is Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) used?
- Assess and trend consciousness in pediatric trauma and acute illness; record the EVM components.
- What are the key clinical points for Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?
- Infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) use modified verbal and motor descriptors. GCS ≤ 8 indicates high airway risk — consider intubation. The motor item is most informative in pre-verbal/intubated children.
- What are the limits and cautions when using Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?
- For licensed clinicians and clinical researchers. Interpret results with history, investigations and local protocols; not a diagnosis or prescription, and not a substitute for multidisciplinary decision-making or local guidelines.
- How is Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) calculated in practice? Can you show a worked example?
- Inputs: Eye opening (E) Spontaneous (4), Verbal (V) | child / infant Oriented / coos, babbles, smiles (5), Motor (M) | child / infant Obeys commands / spontaneous purposeful movement (6) → Result: Pediatric GCS 15 (E4V5M6)（Total: 15 (E4 V5 M6) → Mild (≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild), Action: Mild: observe, serial GCS; correlate with mechanism and other findings, Note: In infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) verbal and motor items use the modified scale; the motor item is most valuable in intubated/pre-verbal children. Record components (EVM) and total. Sedation, paralysis and hypoxia affect the score） Inputs: Eye opening (E) None (1), Verbal (V) | child / infant None (1), Motor (M) | child / infant None (1) → Result: Pediatric GCS 3 (E1V1M1)（Total: 3 (E1 V1 M1) → Severe (coma) (≤ 8 severe, 9–12 moderate, 13–15 mild), Action: GCS ≤ 8: high risk for airway compromise (consider intubation), neuro-emergency assessment and imaging, intensive monitoring; significant mortality risk, Note: In infants (< 2 y / pre-verbal) verbal and motor items use the modified scale; the motor item is most valuable in intubated/pre-verbal children. Record components (EVM) and total. Sedation, paralysis and hypoxia affect the score）