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Glasgow Outcome Scale

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GOS

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The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) is perhaps the most widely used measure for assessing global outcome following a brain injury. The scale consists of five ordinal outcome categories: good recovery (able to live independently, able to return to work or school), moderate disability (able to live independently, unable to return to work or school), severe disability (able to follow commands, unable to live independently), persistent vegetative state (unable to interact with the environment, unresponsive), and death. A criticism of the GOS is that the categories are too broad to detect small, but potentially meaningful, changes.

A nonproprietary measure, the GOS can be completed quickly (usually less than 5 min). The GOS does not require a complicated examination and can be used by professionals from many different backgrounds. A structured interview has been developed, which can be administered in person or over the phone. The interview contains multiple-choice...

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References and Readings

  • Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury. www.tbims.org/combi/gos

  • Hall, K. M., Bushnik, T., Lakisic-Kazazic, B., et al. (2001). Assessing traumatic brain injury outcome measures for long-term follow-up of community-based individuals. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 82, 367–374.

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  • Jennett, B., & Bond, M. (1975). Assessment of outcome after severe brain damage. The Lancet, 1, 480–484.

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  • Pettigrew, L. E. L., Wilson, J. T. L., & Teasdale, G. M. (2003). Reliability of ratings on the Glasgow outcome scales from in-person and telephone structured interviews. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 18, 252–258.

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  • Wilson, J. T. L., Pettigrew, L. E. L., & Teasdale, G. M. (1998). Structured interview for the Glasgow outcome scale and the extended Glasgow outcome scale: Guidelines for their use. Journal of Neurotrauma, 15, 573–585.

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  • Wilson, J. T. L., Pettigrew, L. E. L., & Teasdale, G. M. (2000). Emotional and cognitive consequences of head injury in relation to the Glasgow outcome scale. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 69, 204–209.

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Correspondence to Jerry Wright .

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Wright, J. (2018). Glasgow Outcome Scale. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1850

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