Coma scale

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  1. Do you do a coma scale on every pt

    • 3
      Yes always
    • 6
      No only on a patient who has some neurological changes

9 members have participated

How many of you do a Glasgow coma scale on every patient at least once a shift? I am not talking about someone who has had a CVA I am talking about a walkie talkie person in for betapace loading, or a patient for afib or amy other thing. I am still trying to figure this out it is what my facility is going to next we will be doing speech eval on all patients.

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My preceptor told me it was suppose to be done each shift so I do it...while it's not always important it only takes about 5 seconds so I continue to do it.

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We do it as part of our routine neuro exam every 4 hours. On neuro patients it can be done even more frequently per MD orders.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

At my workplace we only perform Glasgow coma scale assessments on patients within 24 hours of admission and when it is warranted, e.g. if a change in condition is occurring. Glasgow coma scale assessments are not done every shift unless the patient is experiencing a neurological change in condition.

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On our unit (ICU), we do GCS either Q2, Q4, or Q6. It's a quick and easy way to document any changes in LOC and it doesn't take too long!

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Specializes in NICU.

In our adult ICUs we assess GCS q4hr for all patients. Neuro patients are q1 or q2hr or more often for evolving status, TPA administration, and so on.

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Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.

Nah, only for neuro patients, which aren't frequent on my floor.

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Specializes in ICU.

Yep, every patient every four hours. The good thing is you don't even really have to do much to assess it. If the patient's eyes are open and they are watching TV, that's a four. If you can talk with them and have a conversation that makes sense, that's a five. If you ask, "Can you reach your call bell if you need me?" and they can pick it up and show you where it is, that's a six. Boom. A perfect GCS of 15. The only time you'd actually have to do anything besides just have a normal conversation to assess GCS is if something's abnormal.

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In ICU it is a standard part of the assessment. If the patient is in the neuro ICU, neuro checks might be done hourly.

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