Oncology

Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS)

Quantifies functional impairment in patients (often oncology).

Parameters

Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) Result

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FormulaSubjective classification (0-100) assigned by the clinician.

Clinical Pearls

Similar to the ECOG scale, the KPS is used to track disease progression, determine whether a patient can tolerate therapies, and as a criterion for clinical trial enrollment.

Limitations

Can be subjective. KPS and ECOG are often used interchangeably (e.g. KPS 100 = ECOG 0, KPS 80-90 = ECOG 1, KPS 60-70 = ECOG 2).