In the infant Glasgow Coma Scale, what does an Eye Opening score of 3 indicate?

In the infant Glasgow Coma Scale, what does an Eye Opening score of 3 indicate?

• A. Opens eyes spontaneously
• B. Opens eyes to pain
• C. No eye opening
• D. Opens eyes to speech

Answer: (D)

Eye opening on the infant GCS reflects how someone responds to external stimuli, which helps gauge level of consciousness. A score of 3 means the infant opens eyes in response to voice or spoken stimulation, not spontaneously. This shows a moderate level of arousal: it’s higher than needing a painful stimulus or not opening at all, but not as high as opening eyes on their own. Opening eyes spontaneously would get a higher score, while opening only to pain or not at all would get lower scores. So, eye opening to speech is the correct interpretation for a score of 3.

Eye opening on the infant GCS reflects how someone responds to external stimuli, which helps gauge level of consciousness. A score of 3 means the infant opens eyes in response to voice or spoken stimulation, not spontaneously. This shows a moderate level of arousal: it’s higher than needing a painful stimulus or not opening at all, but not as high as opening eyes on their own. Opening eyes spontaneously would get a higher score, while opening only to pain or not at all would get lower scores. So, eye opening to speech is the correct interpretation for a score of 3.