ACVPU is a scale used to assess and track a patient’s neurological status and level of consciousness. ACVPU stands for:

• Alert
• Confusion
• Voice
• Pain
• Unresponsive

ACVPU has been developed from the more widely known AVPU scale. A new assessment point, confusion, has been added between ‘alert’ and ‘voice’.

New confusion in an otherwise alert patient is a warning sign of serious underlying illness. ACVPU is designed to flag up new confusion to first aiders and first responders so that medical help can be sought before the patient deteriorates further.

The ACVPU scale has been introduced more widely in the United Kingdom as part of NEWS2: the National Early Warning Score used in hospitals and by pre-hospital services.

ACVPU is easier to recall and practice than the more in-depth Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). GCS is a scale ranging from 3 to 15 which assesses three distinct areas: eyes, verbal response, and motor response (EVM).

What Does ACVPU Mean in Medical Terms?

ACVPU helps in assessing a patient’s level of consciousness, as it’s a component of calculating their early warning score along with their vital signs. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used when a more detailed assessment is required of a person’s level of consciousness.

The ACVPU Scale

Here is what you should know about the ACVPU scale and what each alphabet entails:

• A (Alert): The patient is completely awake and responds to questions.
• C (Confusion): The patient is awake but is confused or disoriented.
• V (Voice): The patient has some form of response when they’re spoken to.
• P (Pain): The patient responds to pain or when you use an appropriate pain stimuli.
• U (Unresponsive): The patient does not react to stimuli or respond to communication.

Interpreting ACVPU

If an individual is seriously ill or in a condition which is in need of urgent escalation, the red flags to watch out for include a deteriorating level of consciousness or a sudden onset of confusion.

As per the NEWS2 scale, when a patient gets a score of three, it means that they are not fully awake. Documenting the ACVPU score in the NEWS2 chart or medical notes is vital.

If a person is not fully awake, calculating the Glasgow Come Scale (GCS) score provides a more accurate assessment of the person’s level of consciousness.

FAQs

Conclusion

The following are the key takeaways from this article:

• ACVPU is used to assess a patient’s level of consciousness.
• The acronym means alert, confusion, voice, pain, and unresponsive.
• Whenever a person’s consciousness level deteriorates, it’s a red flag which means the situation needs immediate escalation.
• Documenting the ACVPU score is of utmost importance.