GCS at 50
Introduction by Chris Barrett
The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Glasgow Coma Scale. The introduction of the scale, known universally as the GCS, was a major medical milestone, with a genuine global impact, representing a paradigm shift in the evaluation of the unconscious patient.
In their landmark paper published in the Lancet in 1974 ‘Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness. A practical scale’, neurosurgeons Graham Teasdale and Bryan Jennett described a new approach to the assessment of consciousness, a pragmatic scale based on 3 domains; eye opening, verbal performance, and motor response. Before the GCS, there was no consistent, reliable and universally accepted way to evaluate the patient in coma. Once the scale was introduced, it allowed health professionals to record consciousness in a concise and objective fashion, and to communicate with each other in a way that is universally understood. The genius of the GCS lies in its simplicity, reliability and effectiveness. The GCS remains highly relevant today and continues to be used throughout the world.
The GCS put the Institute of Neurological Sciences and Glasgow on the map, and we wish to celebrate this historic achievement. Today's programme is an academic celebration of the Glasgow Coma Scale, featuring GCS-themed presentations from a panel of respected speakers. While there is some retrospection, this brings out the factors that contributed to the success of scale. However, the state of the art, and more importantly, the future of the GCS, particularly in the global context, are front and centre. We hope that you enjoy this historic occasion.
Chris Barrett GCS 50 organiser Consultant Neurosurgeon, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Glasgow