For healthcare professionals
Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score calculator
The Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score (GAHS) grades alcohol-associated hepatitis from five routine values: age, white cell count, urea, prothrombin time ratio and bilirubin. Scores run from 5 to 12, and 9 or more marks the higher-risk group. Forrest and colleagues derived it in 2005. This calculator is written for clinicians and is not a diagnosis.
Patient values
The score was derived from values on day 1 of admission. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
What you will see
The total from 5 to 12, the points for each value, and where it falls against the cut point of 9.
Educational only, not medical advice. Not a diagnosis. Treatment decisions belong to the treating team.
Source
Forrest EH and colleagues, Gut 2005. The points table, the range of 5 to 12 and the cut point of 9 are taken from an open-access (CC BY 4.0) review: Rahimi and Pan, Biomarker Research 2015, Table 1. The tests check every band edge, the minimum and maximum and the cut point.
Validated in
Adults admitted with alcohol-associated hepatitis, in the derivation and validation cohorts of the 2005 paper (Rahimi 2015). It is not meant for other liver diseases.
Limits
Reported accuracy for 28-day mortality was 67% with day 1 values and 75% with day 7 values, and for 84-day mortality 71% and 75% (Rahimi 2015). The bands use the prothrombin time ratio as printed; laboratories that report only the INR may differ. Unit conversions on this page are arithmetic and are not part of the published score.
Points table
| Value | 1 point | 2 points | 3 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | under 50 | 50 or more | - |
| White cell count (x 10^9/L) | under 15 | 15 or more | - |
| Urea (mmol/L) | under 5 | 5 or more | - |
| Prothrombin time ratio | under 1.5 | 1.5 to 2.0 | over 2.0 |
| Bilirubin (umol/L) | under 125 | 125 to 250 | over 250 |
Source: Rahimi and Pan 2015, Table 1 (Rahimi 2015), from the original paper by Forrest and colleagues (Forrest 2005). To convert units on this page, blood urea nitrogen in mg/dL is divided by 2.8 to give urea in mmol/L, and bilirubin in mg/dL is multiplied by 17.1 to give umol/L.
Worked example: age 55, white cell count 16, urea 6 mmol/L, prothrombin time ratio 1.6 and bilirubin 260 umol/L give 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 11.
The cut point of 9
Forrest and colleagues used 5 variables (age, blood urea, white cell count, serum bilirubin and prothrombin time as a ratio of the control value). Scores range from 5 to 12 and are split into under 9 and 9 or more. Day 28 survival was 87% with a day 1 score under 9 and 46% with a score of 9 or more (Rahimi 2015).
In the validation data, the score on day 1 and day 7 predicted 28-day and 84-day outcome better than the Maddrey discriminant function: accuracy for 28-day mortality was 67% and 75%, against 48% and 56% for the discriminant function (Rahimi 2015).
Related calculators
For the older severity score, see the Maddrey discriminant function calculator. For 90-day risk groups, see the ABIC score calculator. For the MELD score, see the MELD score calculator. To grade cirrhosis, use the Child-Pugh score calculator. Other bedside scores are listed under For healthcare professionals.
Sources
- Rahimi E, Pan JJ. Prognostic models for alcoholic hepatitis. Biomark Res. 2015;3:20. doi:10.1186/s40364-015-0046-z. PMID 26203357. Open access (CC BY 4.0). History and formula of the Maddrey discriminant function (1978, modified 1989), cut point 32, sensitivity and specificity, comparison with MELD. Table 1 and text: Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score points, range 5 to 12, cut point 9, day 28 survival. ABIC score formula, cut points 6.71 and 9, 90-day survival by group. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4509754/
- Forrest EH, Evans CD, Stewart S, et al. Analysis of factors predictive of mortality in alcoholic hepatitis and derivation and validation of the Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score. Gut. 2005;54(8):1174-1179. doi:10.1136/gut.2004.050781. PMID 16009691. Original paper (cited; the points used here are taken from Rahimi 2015, CC BY). doi.org/10.1136/gut.2004.050781
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-11-01. Spotted an error? See About.