GDS

Abbreviation for:
general dental services
Geriatric Depression Scale
Geriatric Depression Score
Global Deterioration Scale

GDS

Abbreviation for Geriatric Depression Scale.

¹ scale

S02-836180 (skal) [L. scala, staircase] 1. A graduated or proportioned measure.2. A tool that rates people, places, or things in relation to one another.

absolute scale

A scale used for indicating low temperatures based on absolute zero. It is used in thermodynamic calculations of, for example, heat/energy transfer. Synonym: Kelvin scale See: absolute temperature; absolute zero

Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale

Abbreviation: ABC
A 16-item instrument designed to measure a patient’s perceived level of confidence in performing common ADLs without losing balance and falling. The patient ranks his confidence to complete each item from 0% (no confidence) to 100% (complete confidence).

ASIA Impairment Scale

A method of assessing the degree of motor and sensory impairment in spinal cord injured patients. The assessment is based on an examination of the perineum and anus, i.e., on the S4-S5 level of the spinal cord. Grade: A – Complete: No motor or sensory function; Grade B – Incomplete, sensory function is intact, but motor function is absent below and including the S4-S5 level; Grade C – Incomplete, motor function is preserved below the neurological level and more than half of the primary muscles have a muscle grade test of less than 3; Grade D – Incomplete: Motor function is preserved and at least half of the muscles below the S4-S5 level have a muscle grade test of 3 or better; and Grade E – Normal.

Borg dyspnea scale

See: Borg dyspnea scale

Braden scale

See: Braden scale

Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale

See: Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale

Celsius scale

See: Celsius, Anders

centigrade scale

Celsius scale. See: Celsius, Anders

Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale

Abbreviation: CLAMS
An office test used to evaluate language development in children from birth to age 3. See: Denver Developmental Screening Test

scale of contrast

The range of densities on a radiograph; the number of tonal grays that are visible.

Disability Rating Scale

An instrument to gauge the functional capabilities and progress of a person with moderate to severe brain injury. A person who has no deficits after recovery from brain injury receives a score of 0 (not impaired). A severely impaired person who is unemployable, unable to care for himself, and unable to open his eyes, move, or speak receives the lowest score: 29.

Fahrenheit scale

See: Fahrenheit, Daniel Gabriel

Falls Efficacy Scale

, falls efficacy scale Abbreviation: FES
A questionnaire to assess the level of confidence that patients have in performing activities of daily living without fear of falling.

French scale

A system to indicate the diameter of catheters and sounds. Each unit on the scale is approximately equivalent to one-third mm; thus a 21 French sound is 7 mm in diameter. The size of the diameter of the catheter increases as the numerical value of French increases.

Geriatric Depression Scale

Abbreviation: GDS
A 30-item questionnaire to screen for depression in older adults, e.g., when they first become eligible for Medicare.

Glasgow Coma Scale

Abbreviation: GCS
A scale to determine a patient's level of consciousness. It is a rating from 3 to 15 of the patient's ability to open his eyes, respond verbally, and move normally. The GCS is used primarily during the examination of patients with trauma or stroke. Repeated examinations can help determine if the patient's brain function is improving or deteriorating. Many EMS systems use the GCS for triage purposes and for determining which patients should be intubated in the field. See: tablecoma; Trauma Score

Glasgow Outcome Scale

A scale that assesses current neurological awareness of the environment, and recovery and disability in all types of brain injury. The scale is to be used during the evaluation of trauma, stupor, or coma, and at prescribed time intervals, such as 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after injury. The Glasgow group reports the greatest recovery in the 6-month period after injury. The nurse (or other health care practitioner) notes the patient's abilities at a particular time using this practical scale: Good outcome: may have minimal disabling sequelae but returns to independent functioning comparable to preinjury level and a full-time job; Moderate disability: is capable of independent functioning but not of returning to full-time employment; Moderate disability: is capable of independent functioning but not of returning to full-time employment; Severe disability: depends on others for some aspect of daily living; Persistive vegetative state: has no obvious cortical functioning; Dead.

Global Assessment of Functioning Scale

Abbreviation: GAF scale
A scale that rates a person's social, occupational, and psychological functioning. The scale rates from high functioning, (i.e., highly adapted and integrated to one's environment) to poorly functioning (i.e., self-destructive, homicidal, isolated, or lacking the rudiments of self-care). There is a children’s version of the scale, called the Children’s Global Assessment of Functioning (CGAF).

Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale

Abbreviation: GARF scale
A measure of the degree to which a family meets the emotional and functional needs of its members.

hydrogen ion scale

A scale used to express the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The classic pH scale extends from 0.00 (total acidity) to 14 (total alkalinity), the numbers running in inverse order of hydrogen ion (pH) concentration. The pH value is the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion (pH) concentration of a solution, expressed in moles per liter.

As the hydrogen ion concentration decreases, a change of 1 pH unit means a 10-fold decrease in hydrogen ion concentration. Thus a solution with a pH of 1.0 is 10 times more acid than one with a pH of 2.0 and 100 times more acid than one with a pH of 3.0. A pH of 7.0 indicates neutrality. Very concentrated (> 1molar) mineral acids and bases go beyond the classic scale to values < 0.00 and > 14, respectively.

As the hydrogen ion concentration varies in a definite reciprocal manner with the hydroxyl ion (OH^-) concentration, a pH reading above 7.0 indicates alkalinity. In the human body, arterial blood is slightly alkaline, having a normal pH range of 7.35 to 7.45.

See: pH

Karnofsky Scale

Karnofsky Index.

Kelvin scale

See: Kelvin, Lord

Klein-Bell ADL Scale

See: Klein-Bell ADL Scale

Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale

See: Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale

Morse Falls Scale

See: Morse Falls Scale

Motor Assessment Scale

An eight-item measurement tool used to assess motor function and physical mobility after a stroke.

Norton scale

See: Norton scale

Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale

A widely used European scale of a person's activities of daily living that measures mobility and the ability to function in domestic tasks, kitchen tasks, and leisure activities. See: instrumental activities of daily living

Oswestry Disability Scale

Oswestry Disability Index.

pain scale

An assessment tool used to measure the intensity of a patient's discomfort. See: Numerical Rating Scale; visual analog scale

Norton scale

See: Norton scale

Numerical Rating Scale

, Numeric Rating Scale. Abbreviation: NRS
A variation of the visual analog scale that uses a scalar numbering system to objectify a patient’s pain. Most numeric rating scales use a 10-cm line with tick marks spaced 1 cm apart. The leftmost mark is labeled “0” and has the notation “No Pain.” The rightmost mark is labeled “10” and the notation “Worst pain imaginable.” The patient is asked to indicate where on the continuum he or she would rate the current intensity of pain.

resource-based relative value scale

Abbreviation: RBRVS
A scale for determining the monetary value of evaluation and management services provided to patients, i.e., services provided to patients by nonsurgeons. The scale is based on the total work required for a given service and on other considerations, including the cost of the physician's practice, the income lost during training, and the relative cost of liability insurance. See: managed care; managed competition

Stroke Impact Scale

An instrument to measure the effect of a stroke on a person's mobility, speech, social activities, manual dexterity, strength, emotions, memory, and daily activities.

Vancouver scar scale

Burn scar index.

visual analog scale

An instrument used to quantify a subjective experience, such as the intensity of pain. A commonly used visual analog scale is a 10-cm line labeled with “worst pain imaginable” on the right border and “no pain” on the left border. The patient is instructed to make a mark along the line to represent the intensity of pain currently being experienced. The clinician records the distance of the mark in centimeters from the left end of the scale.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

See: Wechsler, David

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

See: Wechsler, David

Zubrod performance scale

See: Zubrod performance scale

		Score
Eye opening	spontaneously	4
to speech	3
to pain	2
none	1
Verbal response	oriented	5
confused	4
inappropriate	3
incomprehensible	2
none	1
Motor response	obeys commands	6
localizes to pain	5
withdraws from pain	4
flexion to pain	3
extension to pain	2
none	1

Geriatric Depression Scale

Abbreviation: GDS
A 30-item questionnaire to screen for depression in older adults, e.g., when they first become eligible for Medicare.See also: scale

gds

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GDS

GDS

GDS

1 scale

absolute scale

Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale

ASIA Impairment Scale

Borg dyspnea scale

Braden scale

Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale

Celsius scale

centigrade scale

Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale

scale of contrast

Disability Rating Scale

Fahrenheit scale

Falls Efficacy Scale

French scale

Geriatric Depression Scale

Glasgow Coma Scale

Glasgow Outcome Scale

Global Assessment of Functioning Scale

Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale

hydrogen ion scale

Karnofsky Scale

Kelvin scale

Klein-Bell ADL Scale

Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale

Morse Falls Scale

Motor Assessment Scale

Norton scale

Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale

Oswestry Disability Scale

pain scale

Norton scale

Numerical Rating Scale

resource-based relative value scale

Stroke Impact Scale

Vancouver scar scale

visual analog scale

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Zubrod performance scale

Geriatric Depression Scale

GDS

¹ scale