Retrospective Evaluation of the Epidemiology of Modified Glasgow Coma Scale Score and Head Injury in Dogs-An ACVECC-VetCOT Registry Study (April 2017 to December 2021): 9607 Cases.

MGCS <18 indicates poor prognosis but imperfectly identifies traumatic brain injury in dogs.

This retrospective multicenter study analyzed 9,607 dogs from the Veterinary Committee on Trauma registry to evaluate the epidemiology of modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS) scores and head injury. Dogs with MGCS scores <18 demonstrated significantly lower survival rates (67.7%) compared to those with scores of 18 (97.8%). Younger and smaller dogs were more likely to have MGCS scores <18. Blunt trauma was the most common injury type associated with MGCS scores <18 (70.2% vs 39.8%). Head injury incidence was substantially higher in dogs with MGCS <18 (32.8%) versus those with MGCS of 18 (8.4%). The study found that while MGCS scoring correlates with traumatic brain injury severity and prognosis, using MGCS changes as a sole surrogate for TBI diagnosis has limitations and inconsistencies with other neurologic scoring systems. These findings contribute to understanding head injury pathophysiology in dogs and support the translational value of comparative MGCS and human GCS scoring.

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