Table 3.

Tools used to assess level of consciousness^4,11–13

Tool	Factors assessed	Scoring	Clinical significance
Glasgow Coma Scale	Eye opening Verbal responses Motor responses to spontaneous, verbal, tactile, and painful stimuli	15-Point scale 1 point for no response in each category; minimum score of 3	Score decrease of 2 or more without clear cause (eg, sedation) indicates neurological deterioration. Patients with lower scores need further assessment.
Four score	Eye Motor Brainstem reflex Respiratory response to stimuli	16-Point scale 4 components each with maximum score of 4	Lower scores indicate greater mortality risk (scores of 0–7, high risk; scores of 15–16, low risk).
Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale	Sedation levels and behavior in patients who are and are not receiving mechanical ventilation Level of arousal Cognition Sustainability of sedation efforts	10-Point scale (−5) to (+4)	Positive scores indicate mild to severe symptoms. Negative scores indicate the patient is drowsy to unarousable. Score of 0 indicates the patient is calm and alert.