• Anthony M DiGiorgio, Blake A Wittenberg, Clifford L Crutcher, Brooke Kennamer, Clarence S Greene, Alan J Velander, Jason D Wilson, Gabriel C Tender, Frank Culicchia, and John P Hunt.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Electronic address: amdigiorgio@gmail.com.
• World Neurosurg. 2020 Mar 1; 135: e664-e670.

BackgroundThe effect of intoxicating substances on assessment of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the trauma setting has not been completely elucidated.MethodsA trauma registry was queried for patients with blunt head trauma in 2013-2017. Initial GCS score and toxicology screening from the database were reviewed. Next recorded GCS score from the neurosurgery evaluation and change in GCS score (ΔGCS) were compared.ResultsWe reviewed 468 patients. In 217 (46.4%) patients, no toxic substances were found, whereas >1 toxic substance was found in 104 (22.2%) patients. Alcohol level above the legal limit was found in 109 (23.3%) patients, marijuana was found in 105 (22.4%) patients, benzodiazepines were found in 94 (20.1%) patients, opiates were found in 48 (10.3%) patients, and cocaine was found in 41 (8.8%) patients. Mean change in GCS score was significantly higher in impaired patients compared with patients with a negative screening test (1.74 ± 2.4 vs. 0.75 ± 2.7, P < 0.001); this is despite both groups having a similar initial GCS score (6.23 ± 3.86 in impaired group vs. 6.47 ± 3.52 in sober group, P = 0.677). Initial GCS score was 3 in 187 patients, of whom 150 had a positive toxicology screen. Change in GCS score was significantly higher in the impaired group (2.75 ± 2.7 vs. 1.19 ± 1.8, P < 0.001).ConclusionsIntoxicating substances can confound GCS assessment in trauma patients. This can have effects on patient care as well as performance metrics and predictive analytics. These patients should be screened, and intoxicating substances should be reversed or allowed to wear off before GCS score is recorded for benchmarking or quality reporting.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3 keywords...

hide…