Appraisal of the Karnofsky Performance Status and proposal of a simple algorithmic system for its evaluation

Abstract

BackgroundFor over 60 years, the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) has proven itself a valuable tool with which to perform measurement of and comparison between the functional statuses of individual patients. In recent decades conditions for patients have changed, and so too has the KPS undergone several adjustments since its initial development.DiscussionThe most important works regarding the KPS tend to focus upon a variety of issues, including but not limited to reliability, validity and health-related quality of life. Also discussed is the question of what quantity the KPS may in fact be said to measure. The KPS is increasingly used as a prognostic factor in patient assessment. Thus, questions regarding if and how it affects survival are relevant.In this paper, we propose an algorithm which uses a minimum of two and a maximum of three questions to facilitate an adequate and efficient evaluation of the KPS.SummaryThis review honors the original intention of the discoverer and gives an overview of adaptations made in recent years. The proposed algorithm suggests specific updates with the goal of ensuring continued adequacy and expediency in the determination of the KPS.

Interface between social support, quality of life and depression in users eligible for palliative care

“…Users with performance values below 70% on the scale receive an early PC indication, and values below 50% correspond to exclusive PC. It is known that a patient's functional capacity is determined by several factors such as age, gender, disease stage and the presence of physical symptoms; however, we believe that KPS is a useful form of evaluation in clinical practice, as it identifies the consequences of the physical and biological aspects in the daily life of the patient (11) . In addition, it should be pointed out that this study also considered the KPS tripartite classification A, B and C, which is currently considered as the proposed algorithm for evaluating this instrument.…”

“…Finally, if the answer to question (2) was "yes", we asked question (3): What is the patient's degree of disability? The patient then received a classification between 0% and 40% of the KPS (11) according to the level of disability.…”

Ethical Issues in Access to Palliative Care in Primary Health Care in a Brazilian Municipality

“…Patients with Karnofsky score on the scale (KPS) less than or equal to 70% have early indication of Hospice Care assistance. 6 As for the WHO criteria, it is important to say that for a patient to be eligible for PC it has one or more of the following diseases or conditions: Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, cancer, cardiovascular diseases (excluding when cause of sudden death) , cirrhosis, congenital anomalies, sequelae of meningitis, hematological and immunological disorders, neonatal conditions, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, Acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and resistant Tuberculosis. 7 Therefore, the selection criteria of the participating members were: over 18 years, be eligible to receive early PC (KPS≤70%) and accept to participate.…”

Scleromyxedema (Arndt-Gottron Syndrome): a Case Report

“…Lethal outcome is also possible as a result of non-specifi c complications, but also hematological malignancy (1). Clinical staging of scleromyxedema has been proposed as follows: 1) limited cutaneous papular mucinosis; 2) generalized cutaneous mucinosis and/or extracutaneous manifestations; 3) generalized cutaneous mucinosis and/or extracutaneous manifestations with a Karnofsky performance status less than 50% (20,21). Th e Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) is a widely used method to assess the functional status of patients.…”