Introduction to the Glasgow Outcome Scale

The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) was commonly used before other scales were developed. As a brief descriptive outcome scale it has been replaced by the DRS, although it is still seen occasionally in the literature, especially in studies investigating early acute medical predictors of gross outcome. The five categories of the original scale are: dead, vegetative, severely disabled, moderately disabled, and good recovery. An extended version of the scale divides each of the latter three categories in two, making eight categories.

Information regarding the Glasgow Outcome Scale was contributed by Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Please contact Dr. Linda Isaac, PhD at for questions regarding the presented information.

Please note that the GOS has been replaced by the Disability Rating Scale (DRS), and therefore GOS certification is no longer available through the COMBI website. To become DRS certified, please refer to the following link: http://tbims.org/combi/drs/index.html.

If you find the information in the COMBI useful, please mention it when citing sources of information. The information on the Glasgow Outcome Scale may be cited as:

Wright, J. (2000). The Glasgow Outcome Scale. The Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury. http://www.tbims.org/combi/gos ( accessed ).*

*Note: This citation is for the COMBI web material. Mr. Wright is not the scale author for the GOS.