AMA Criteria for Permanent Impairment Associated with a Defect of the Upper Airway (Air Passages)

Description

A defect in the upper airway that affects breathing can result in permanent impairment to a person. The AMA has developed criteria for determining the severity of this impairment.

Sites involved:

(1) bilateral nose or nasopharynx

(2) oropharynx

(3) laryngopharynx

(4) larynx

(5) upper trachea

(6) lower trachea

(7) major bronchi

Parameters:

(1) dyspnea at rest

(2) dyspnea during usual activities of daily living (ADL)

(3) dyspnea on exertion

(4) obstructive lesion

Activities of daily living:

(1) walking

(2) climbing stairs

(3) grooming

Dyspnea with ADL	Walking	Stair Climbing	Grooming and Other ADL
none	unrestricted	unrestricted	unrestricted
mild	unrestricted on level surface	if more than 1 flight	unrestricted
moderate to severe	if more than 1-2 blocks	need to rest while climbing 1 flight	may aggravate

Dyspnea on exertion:

(1) with stress

(2) physical effort

(3) hurrying

(4) hill climbing

(5) physical recreational activities

(6) physical social activities

Dyspnea at Rest	Dyspnea with ADL	Dyspnea on Exertion	Obstructive Lesion	Impairment Whole Person
none	none, can walk and climb freely	none	partial	0 – 10%
none	may occur if climbs more than 1 flight of stairs	mild to moderate	partial	11 – 29%
none	mild to moderate	severe	partial, nonnasal	30 – 49%
mild to moderate	severe	unable to exert	partial, nonnasal	50 – 89%
severe, with spontaneous respiration inadequate; requires ventilation	unable to perform	unable to exert	partial (? fairly complete), nonnasal	90+%

To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.

Description

Specialty

ICD-10