Abstract

BACKGROUND
Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) is a commonly used scale to assess a patient's functional status.
METHODS
Between September 1999 and March 2000, 117 patients were independently evaluated and assigned KPS scores by both an attending physician and a resident physician at the time of radiation therapy simulation.
RESULTS
Both attending and resident median assigned KPS score was 80. Attending and resident KPS scores were identical for 50 patients (43%). When KPS scores differed, this difference was of the smallest incremental value (10 points) in 50 patients (75%). The Pearson correlation coefficient is 0.85, significant at the 0.01 level.
CONCLUSION
KPS scoring by radiation oncology attending physicians is similar to that by resident physicians.

Links

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Authors

Liem BJ, Holland JM, Kang MY, Hoffelt SC, Marquez CM

Institution

Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Radiation Oncology, Portland, USA.

Source

Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education 17:3 2002 pg 138-41

MeSH

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Clinical Competence
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Humans
Internship and Residency
Karnofsky Performance Status
Male
Medical Staff, Hospital
Middle Aged
Patient Simulation
Radiation Oncology
Radiotherapy
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

12243218