Differences of the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness Scores on Consciousness Level Examination

Abstract

Consciousness is an integration between the sensory system, reasoning, imagination and emotions, and memory in receiving and processing information from the internal and external environment. Due to the large spectrum and causes of impaired consciousness, several methods are needed to check the level of consciousness, they are Glasgow Coma Scale and the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness Score. This article summarizes the differences in the use of the Glasgow Coma Scale and Full Outline of Unresponsiveness score methods in measuring the level of consciousness. The method used is literature searching from various national and international journals and using a digital library such as www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and Google Scholar with keyword Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) score AND/OR Glasgow Coma Scale. The literature used totaled 14 articles which published in 2006 to 2019. The analytical method used is a systematic literature review method by systematically identifying, reviewing, and investigating research in terms of its title, approach, objectives, results, and discussion with a particular topic focus. The results of this literature study indicate that there are differences in the assessment components, inter-rater reliability, and differences in the predictive ability of mortality in the Glasgow Coma Scale method and the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness score so that the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness score can be an alternative or complement to Glasgow Coma Scale in measuring the level of consciousness.