### Description: - used to determine the severity of a [[stroke]] > [!warning] Limitations for [[posterior cerebral artery syndrome|PCA Stroke]] > Patients with even a large PCA stroke might have low or normal NIHSS, highlighting a very important limitation. <div class="rich-link-card-container"><a class="rich-link-card" href="https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/715/nih-stroke-scale-score-nihss" target="_blank"> <div class="rich-link-image-container"> <div class="rich-link-image" style="background-image: url('https://cdn-web-img.mdcalc.com/1200x630_mdcalc_facebook.jpg')"> </div> </div> <div class="rich-link-card-text"> <h1 class="rich-link-card-title">NIH Stroke Scale/Score (NIHSS)</h1> <p class="rich-link-card-description"> The NIH Stroke Scale/Score (NIHSS) quantifies stroke severity based on weighted evaluation findings. </p> <p class="rich-link-href"> https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/715/nih-stroke-scale-score-nihss </p> </div> </a></div> ### Scoring: - higher scores → more severe stroke - score < 4 have favorable outcomes and a high likelihood of functional independence, regardless of treatment > [!tip] Scoring Tips > - score what you SEE, not what you think > - score the first response, not the best response (except for item 9, best language) > - don't coach the patient ### PDF: ![[NIH Stroke Scale.pdf]]