What is the purpose of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)?

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is specifically designed to assess a patient's level of consciousness and neurological function. It provides a standardized method to evaluate how well a person responds to stimuli, based on three key aspects: eye opening, verbal response, and motor response. Each category is scored, allowing healthcare providers to quickly gauge the overall neurological status of a patient, especially in emergencies or after head injuries.

By measuring these responses, the GCS helps to identify the severity of impairment in consciousness, track changes over time, and guide treatment decisions. In contrast, other options such as evaluating respiratory function, measuring pain management effectiveness, or assessing cardiovascular stability focus on entirely different physiological systems and are not within the scope of what the GCS is intended to evaluate.