What is the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) used for?

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is specifically designed to evaluate a patient's level of consciousness following a brain injury. It assesses three key aspects of a person's responsiveness: eye opening, verbal response, and motor response. Each of these components is scored independently, and the total score helps to categorize the severity of the brain injury, ranging from mild to severe coma. This standardized assessment is critical in clinical settings, as it provides a quick and systematic method to monitor changes in a patient's neurological status over time and guides subsequent medical interventions.

The other options do not align with the purpose of the GCS. For example, measuring pulse rate is a separate assessment related to cardiovascular health. Determining pain levels in patients is typically done using different scales specifically focused on pain assessment. Likewise, assessing muscle strength involves different methods and tools that are not part of the GCS framework, which is solely concerned with consciousness levels.