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Level of consciousness is an important physical sign to monitor in poisoned or intoxicated patients. Even though the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and the Alert/Verbal/Painful/Unresponsive (AVPU) scale were designed for head trauma patients, they are frequently used to assess consciousness levels in overdose patients. In a prospective study, investigators in Scotland evaluated how well the scores on the AVPU scale and the GCS correspond in poisoned and intoxicated patients.
Over a 6-month period, nurses at the study hospital, who routinely documented GCS scores for poisoned patients and were trained in use of the AVPU scale, simultaneously assessed level of consciousness using the AVPU scale and the GCS for 1384 patients who were admitted for poi…