Besides considering the duration of loss of consciousness and the depth of coma, neuropsychological testing, scales to assess the individual's level of consciousness as well as brain scans are helpful in determining the presence of brain injury and the degree of damage associated with it.
Neuropsychological assessment:
Glasgow Coma Scale
There are a few different tools that medical practitioners use to diagnose the symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury. The Glasgow Coma Scale is a test that helps doctors and other medical professionals assess the initial severity of a traumatic brain injury by checking the individual's motor, verbal and eye opening responses. Abilities are scored numerically on a scale of 3-15 points with higher scores implying less severe injuries. The final score is determined by adding the scores of each section.
Mild (13-15)
Moderate Disability (9-12)
Severe Disability (3-8)
The Ranchos Los Amigos Scale
It is an eight-level scale used to describe a brain-injured person's level of function. It measures the levels of awareness, cognition, behavior and interaction with the environment.
Level I: No Response
Brain imaging measures such as CAT scans, MRIs, SPECTs and PETs scan may be useful
Neuropsychological assessment:
- It relies upon the use of standardized testing methods to evaluate higher cognitive functioning
- compared to a neurological evaluation, this type of assessment is more comprehensive and provides more detailed information regarding cognitive skills
- testing evaluates attention span, orientation, memory, concentration, language (receptive and expressive), new learning, spatial perception, mathematical reasoning, abstract and organizational thinking, problem solving, social judgment and motor abilities
- such testing may indicate areas of relative strength and weakness and provide information how particular impairments may impact the individual's life
Glasgow Coma Scale
There are a few different tools that medical practitioners use to diagnose the symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury. The Glasgow Coma Scale is a test that helps doctors and other medical professionals assess the initial severity of a traumatic brain injury by checking the individual's motor, verbal and eye opening responses. Abilities are scored numerically on a scale of 3-15 points with higher scores implying less severe injuries. The final score is determined by adding the scores of each section.
Mild (13-15)
Moderate Disability (9-12)
Severe Disability (3-8)
The Ranchos Los Amigos Scale
It is an eight-level scale used to describe a brain-injured person's level of function. It measures the levels of awareness, cognition, behavior and interaction with the environment.
Level I: No Response
- the person is unconscious and does not react to any stimuli.
- person reacts inconsistently and without a purpose (e.g., garbled words, broad body movement)
- person reacts more specifically to different stimuli; may have a vague awareness of their body and sometimes follow commands (e.g., "close your eyes")
- the person becomes very active and the behavior might be bizarre; might be angry and uncooperative
- person becomes less agitated and reacts to simple commands in a more consistent way, but may become agitated in a noisy or busy environment; person is in danger of wandering off; their memory is severely damaged
- person's reactions are more appropriate and easily follows simple directions; memory of the past has improved greatly
- person can go through daily routines automatically, but needs guidance to stay safe; judgment and problem-solving skills are still damaged
- person is independent and can function well in society, but some difficulties with reasoning, judgment and learning may continue
Brain imaging measures such as CAT scans, MRIs, SPECTs and PETs scan may be useful