Simple bedside assessment of level of consciousness: comparison of two simple assessment scales with the Glasgow Coma scale.
Neurological assessment is an essential component of early warning scores used to identify seriously ill ward patients. We investigated how two simple scales (ACDU - Alert, Confused, Drowsy, Unresponsive; and AVPU - Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive) compared to each other and also to the more complicated Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Neurosurgical nurses recorded patients' conscious level with each of the three scales. Over 7 months, 1020 analysable measurements were collected. Both simple scales identified distinct GCS ranges, although some overlap occurred (p < 0.001). Median GCS scores associated with AVPU were 15, 13, 8 and 6 and for ACDU were 15, 13, 10 and 6. The median values of ACDU were more evenly distributed than AVPU and may therefore be better at identifying early deteriorations in conscious level when they occur in critically ill ward patients.
McNarry
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AF
Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Royal London Hospital, Barts and the London NHS Trust, Alexandra Wing, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London E1 1BB, UK. al@thegasman.fsnet.co.uk
Goldhill
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DR
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003243:Consciousness; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000175:diagnosis*