AVPU

Abbreviation and mnemonic for prehospital assessment of mental status. Refers to assessments: alert; responsive to verbal stimuli; responsive to painful stimuli; and unresponsive.

AVPU

An acronym used by health care providers to standardize the way of describing a patient’s mental status. It stands for alert (oriented to person, place and day); responds to verbal stimuli (appropriate or inappropriate); responds to painful stimuli (localizes, withdraws or demonstrates decorticate or decerebrate neurological posturing); or totally unresponsive.