Practice and Factors Associated with Using the Glasgow Coma Score by Health Workers in the Maritime, Lomé-Commune, and Kara Regions

Background: The GCS is a universally recognized instrument for assessing patients’ level of consciousness. Although doctors, nurses, anaesthetists and medical assistants generally receive training on this score during their studies, it appeared that their practice in the concrete evaluation of the GCS might not be sufficiently thorough, as suggested by some studies. Method: We conducted a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study over a period of 7 months, covering the health regions of Togo (Lomé-commune, Maritime, and Kara). Five clinical scenarios were used to evaluate the practice of the health workers, considering as having a good practice those who answered correctly to at least 3 clinical scenarios. Data were collected using an online form and a self-administered questionnaire. The Chi2 test was used to analyze the variables influencing the use of the Glasgow Scale. A logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with good practice. Results: The overall good practice rate for use of the GCS was 35.96%. The frequency of use influences good practice. However, the seniority of the agents surveyed was not associated with good practice. Conclusion: Practical assessment of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) by healthcare professionals remains inadequate. Despite good theoretical knowledge of the tool, there is a lack of practical assessment.