Modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) Dyspnea Scale

Indications

• used to help calculate BODE Index, a tool for predicting life expectancy of a patient with COPD

Clinical significance

• assesses dyspnea in patients with COPD

Procedure

• score = 0: only get breathless with strenuous exercise (none)
• score = 1: short of breath when hurrying on level ground or walking up a slight hill (mild, GOLD Patient Category = group A)
• score = 2: walk slower than people of the same age on level ground because of breathlessness,or have to stop for breath when walking at my own pace on level ground (moderate, GOLD Patient Category = group B)
• score = 3: stop for breath after walking approximately 100 m or after a few minutes on level ground (severe)*
• score = 4: too breathless to leave the house or breathless when dressing or undressing (very severe)

* GOLD Patient Category = group E

• >= 2 COPD exacerbations or 1 hospitalization due to COPD exacerbation

More general terms

• health questionnaire