Karnofsky Performance Scale
What It Measures
The Karnofsky Performance Status is a single number describing how much a person can do for themselves. A clinician picks one level from 100, meaning normal with no evidence of disease, down to 0, meaning death, in steps of ten.
The scale divides into three bands that carry most of its meaning. From 80 to 100, a person can carry on normal activity and work with no special care. From 50 to 70, they cannot work but can live at home and manage most personal needs with varying help. From 10 to 40, they cannot care for themselves and need the equivalent of institutional or hospice care. Because it is quick and widely understood, it is used for prognosis, for tracking change, and for clinical trial eligibility.
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: The Karnofsky Performance Status Scale is in the public domain.
Learn More: Note that the score is assigned subjectively by a clinician, not derived from a task, which is its main limitation — inter-rater agreement improves with the published anchor descriptions.