AVPU Scale

Excerpt

Medical illness, traumatic brain injury, alcohol intoxication, drugs, and poisonings may all lead to aberrations in a patient's neurological and physiological status in ways that cause an abnormal level of consciousness. AVPU is a straightforward scale that is useful to rapidly grade a patient's gross level of consciousness, responsiveness, or mental status. It comes into play during pre-hospital care, emergency rooms, general hospital wards, and intensive care unit (ICU) settings.