Introduction

Better tools are needed to predict functional decline and oncologic prognosis in inpatient cancer rehabilitation. The Karnofky Performance Status (KPS) is a widely used scale of functional performance in oncology, although the scale differs from current rehabilitation terminology. Use of the KPS in inpatient rehabilitation may support a shared method of communication between cancer rehabilitation providers and the primary oncology teams.

Objective

To establish interrater reliability for translation of the KPS for use in inpatient cancer rehabilitation.

Design

Retrospective interrater reliability review.

Setting

A large inpatient rehabilitation hospital system.

Participants

Fifty randomized charts were chosen for review from a larger database of all patients admitted to an inpatient cancer rehabilitation program in 2020.

Intervention

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

The KPS scale was translated into common inpatient rehabilitation grading consistent with the Continuity and Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Item Set to support its use in this specialty area. Additionally, a list of best practice guidelines and scoring instructions were created to assist raters in determining appropriate levels within the scale. Members of the inpatient cancer rehabilitation team scored all patients within the larger database (n=424) throughout 2020. A blinded rater completed retrospective chart reviews to score the 50- chart sample. A two-way random effects model was used to calculate an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the KPS scores at each of three time points (premorbid, admission, and discharge).

Results

The KPS interpretation for rehabilitation proved to be statistically reliable for the 50- chart sample. The premorbid KPS interrater reliability was acceptable (ICC=0.67, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.82), admission KPS reliability was good (ICC=0.88, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.93), and discharge reliability was excellent (ICC= 0.96, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.98).

Conclusion

The KPS translation at three time points (pre-morbid, admission and discharge) during the inpatient rehabilitation continuum has acceptable interrater reliability.

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