---
name: respirology-assessment
description: Use when asked to administer, score, or explain a Respirology Assessment — respiratory evaluation using the MRC Dyspnoea Scale — grounded in FormExamples/form-examples; related to pulmonology-assessment.
---

# 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](https://github.com/FormExamples/form-examples/tree/main/forms/respirology-assessment) for the full implementation, clinical references, and worked examples.
- [[pulmonology-assessment]], [[asthma-assessment]] for related respiratory assessments.