Which score indicates the patient gives an unintelligible or incomprehensible response?

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a clinical scale used to assess a patient's level of consciousness and responsiveness, particularly in emergency situations. The verbal response component measures how well a patient can communicate verbally.

A verbal response score of 2 indicates that a patient gives an unintelligible or incomprehensible response, which means they may be making sounds or intermittently verbal but are unable to form coherent words or phrases. This score reflects a significant level of impairment in the patient's ability to communicate and suggests altered cognitive function, which may be due to a variety of medical conditions, trauma, or intoxication.

In contrast, a score of 1 on the GCS indicates no verbal response at all, showing a complete lack of communication. Scores of 3 and 5 represent varying degrees of intelligible responses, with a score of 3 denoting inappropriate words and a score of 5 signifying that the patient is oriented and converses normally. Therefore, the correct interpretation of the scores clearly delineates the level of comprehensibility in a patient’s responses, making the score of 2 the one that corresponds to unintelligible or incomprehensible communication.