BACKGROUND It is difficult to assess neurological and neurosurgical early rehabilitation patients comprehensively. Available scales focus on activities of daily living (Barthel (BI) and Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index (ERBI)) or wakefulness (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Coma Remission Scale (CRS)) while cognitive items are missing. METHODS The Early Functional Abilities (EFA) scale comprises ...

BACKGROUND Early tracheostomy can reduce the time required for mechanical ventilation, the duration of ICU stay, and treatment expenses. Choosing the optimal time for tracheostomy in patients with severe head injury is therefore important. The purpose of this study was to find the optimal time for tracheostomy according to Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective st...

Zolpidem is a non-benzodiazepine drug that has selectivity for the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. We experienced paradoxical effect of zolpidem in a 48-year-old male patient with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury after cardiac arrest. The patient was in stupor and could not communicate. His Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was E2M4V2 and Rancho Los Amigos (RLA) was grade III to IV. Zolpidem was ...

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE To study whether transcallosal inhibition (TCI) can evaluate the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI). RESEARCH DESIGN Case-control study. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Twenty patients with a chronic TBI and 20 control subjects were studied. The following transcranial magnetic stimulation parameters were checked; resting motor threshold, central motor latency times, onset lat...

OBJECTIVE To verify the prevalence of acute hyperglycemia in children with head trauma stratified by the Glasgow coma scale (GCS). METHOD A prospective cross-sectional study carried out with information from medical records of pediatric patients presenting with head injury in the emergency room of a referral emergency hospital during a one year period. We considered the cut-off value of 150 m...

Hachisu T, et al. BMJ Case Rep 2017. doi:10.1136/bcr-2017-222288 Description A 74-year-old man presented to the emergency department with slightly impaired consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS): E3V5M6) after a fight while drinking alcohol. The next day, he developed a strong headache and gradually deteriorating consciousness (GCS: E3V4M6) with watery rhinorrhoea (see online supplementary vid...

Difficulties in treating subjects with acute subdural hematomas and low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores (5 or less) were studied in 30 patients using two different surgical treatments. The outcomes in these patients were good for 13% poor for 23% and fatal for 63%. The ICP was well controlled in 2 patients (12%) in the DH (decompressive hemicraniectomy) group. No patient was well controlled in ...

Stroke in children is relatively uncommon. We describe an 8-year-old boy diagnosed with primary eosinophilic granuloma (EG) of the frontal bone. After excision of the EG, the postoperative course was eventful. The patient had an acute right middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarct and had been comatose with a diminished Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 5. Urgent decompressive hemicraniectomy with ...

BACKGROUND The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is widely used in assessing level of consciousness. The GCS verbal component may be misleading in acute stroke: a focal neurological deficit leading to dysphasia could affect the score, independently of level of consciousness. AIM To investigate the relationship, in all strokes and in dysphasic patients, between stroke outcome and total GCS (with and wi...