Respirology Assessment

Respiratory evaluation using the MRC (Medical Research Council) Dyspnoea Scale, with cough assessment, pulmonary function, and exposure history.

Scoring

Instrument: MRC Dyspnoea Scale. Range 1–5.

• 1 — breathless only with strenuous exercise.
• 2 — short of breath hurrying.
• 3 — walks slower than peers.
• 4 — stops after 100m.
• 5 — too breathless to leave the house.

What it covers

Demographics; chief complaint; dyspnoea assessment; cough assessment; respiratory history; pulmonary function; current medications; allergies; smoking and exposures; and sleep/functional status.

Relationship to pulmonology-assessment

This assessment is a general breathlessness/respiratory-symptom evaluation using the MRC scale; Pulmonology Assessment is specifically GOLD-staging-focused for COPD. Use the MRC-based assessment for a general dyspnoea evaluation, and the GOLD-based one when COPD staging specifically is needed.

Common pitfalls

• Using the MRC grade as if it diagnoses a specific condition — it measures functional breathlessness, common to many different respiratory (and some cardiac) conditions; it doesn't itself indicate cause.
• Skipping cough assessment when dyspnoea is the presenting complaint — cough character and duration often provide diagnostic clues distinct from breathlessness severity alone.
• Missing occupational/environmental exposure history — several significant respiratory conditions are exposure-related (occupational asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis); a history without this section can miss an identifiable, modifiable cause.

Learn more

• FormExamples: respirology-assessment for the full implementation, clinical references, and worked examples.
• Pulmonology Assessment, Asthma Assessment for related respiratory assessments.