New York State Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Practice Exam

A 29-year-old male with a head injury shows confusion about the time and date but can move all extremities on command. What is his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score?

1. 10

2. 12

3. 13

4. 14

The correct answer is: 13

To determine the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, you need to assess three aspects of the patient's neurological function: eye opening, verbal response, and motor response. The GCS is scored on a scale from 3 to 15, with higher scores indicating better neurological function. In this scenario, the patient is a 29-year-old male with a head injury who shows confusion about time and date but can move all extremities on command. 1. **Eye Opening**: Generally, if a patient opens their eyes spontaneously, they receive a score of 4. If they only open their eyes in response to speech or pain, the scores are lower. 2. **Verbal Response**: Confusion about time and date indicates that the patient is not oriented to time. The highest score for a fully oriented person is 5, while a score of 4 is awarded for confused conversation. Since this patient shows confusion but is still engaging in some conversation, he would likely be scored a 4. 3. **Motor Response**: The ability to move all extremities on command indicates a score of 6, which is the highest score for motor response. This reflects that the patient's motor function is intact. Combining these scores