Karnofsky Index
The Karnofsky Index (actually Karnofsky performance status scale ) is a scale with which symptom-related restriction of activity, self-sufficiency and self-determination in patients with malignant tumors can be assessed. It ranges from a maximum of 100 percent (no restrictions) to 0 percent ( death ). The graduation is usually done in 10-point steps. Thus, the abstract and elusive concept of quality of life can ultimately be operationalized and standardized with a certain approximation . The purpose of the index is to make the forecastto assess, to define therapy goals and to create therapy plans. The assessment of the initial condition of the patient is necessary, since cancer in different stages has different goals ( healing , life extension, functional restitution, palliative medical care) and should be treated very differently. The Karnofsky Index was proposed in 1949 by David A. Karnofsky of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center . In addition to this index, the quality of life index of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG for short) is also used in everyday clinical practice . The table lists the two indexes in comparison. However, a conversion from ECOG to Karnofsky index and vice versa cannot be carried out reliably.
table
| Karnofsky index |
ECOG index |
description |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | 0 | No complaints, no signs of illness. |
| 90% | Capable of normal activity with little or no symptoms. | |
| 80% | 1 | Normal activity with exertion possible. Clear symptoms. |
| 70% | Self-sufficiency. Normal activity or work not possible. | |
| 60% | 2 | Some help needed, self-employed in most areas. |
| 50% | Help and medical care are often used. | |
| 40% | 3 | With special needs. Qualified help needed. |
| 30% | Severely disabled. Hospitalization required. | |
| 20% | 4th | Seriously ill. Intensive medical measures required. |
| 10% | Moribund. Unstoppable physical decline. | |
| 0% | 5 | Death. |
literature
- DA Karnofsky, JH. Burchenal: The Clinical Evaluation of Chemotherapeutic Agents in Cancer . In: CM MacLeod (Ed.): Evaluation of Chemotherapeutic Agents. Columbia Univ. Press, 1949, p. 196.
- E. Verger, M. Salamero, C. Conill: Can Karnofsky Performance Status be transformed to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Scoring Scale and vice-versa . In: European Journal of Cancer , 1992, 28A (8-9), pp. 1328-1330.