Good repeatability ( for the 6MWT and ESWT ) and reproducibility ( for the 6MWT , 12-minute walk test , ISWT , ESWT , and incremental cycle ergometer test ) were reported by most studies assessing these tests , providing patients were familiarized with them beforeh and .
The 6MWT , ISWT , and particularly the ESWT were reported to be sensitive to therapeutic intervention .
Exercise tests are often used to evaluate the functional status of patients with COPD .
However , to the best of our knowledge , a comprehensive systematic comparison of these tests has not been performed .
We systematic ally review ed studies reporting the repeatability and /or reproducibility of these tests , and studies comparing their sensitivity to therapeutic intervention .
Exercises commonly used in rehabilitation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: cardiopulmonary responses and effect over time.
OBJECTIVES To compare conventional exercise-based assessment of pulmonary rehabilitation ( PR ) with improvement in training exercises employed during a PR program , and to describe the cardiopulmonary response of different training exercises during PR of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) . DESIGN Observational study . SETTING Inpatient PR . PARTICIPANTS Patients with moderate to very severe COPD ( N=18 ) . INTERVENTIONS Not applicable . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cardiopulmonary responses to interval cycling , arm exercise , and a test of functional activities of daily living ( ADLs )  were evaluated during the PR training program using a mobile telemetric breath-by-breath system . The effects of PR were evaluated by comparing pre-PR and post-PR training activities , incremental and constant work-rate cycling , and a 6-minute walk test . RESULTS Interval cycling and the ADLs test were moderate-intensity to heavy-intensity exercises ( 70%-80 % of maximal oxygen consumption ) , while the arm exercise was a low-intensity activity ( 40 % of maximal oxygen consumption ) . After 12 weeks of PR , cycle load , arm weights , and walking distances during training activities had increased alongside increased muscle mass . At iso-intensities , no cardiopulmonary changes in the training exercises were observed . Exercise duration of constant work-rate cycling and 6-minute walk distance increased by 160 % and 14 % , respectively , after PR , with concurrent right-shifts of anaerobic threshold and a decrease in heart rate . CONCLUSIONS Supervised increases in weight , load , and walking distance during training activities were useful clinical outcomes for patients , demonstrating the beneficial effects of progressive training on physical performance . However , for physiologic evaluation of PR , conventional tests , such as maximal incremental cycling , endurance cycling , and a 6-minute walk test , had greater validity . Physiologic evaluation of the training exercises showed that the training program complied with the training recommendations for PR
Good repeatability ( for the 6MWT and ESWT ) and reproducibility ( for the 6MWT , 12-minute walk test , ISWT , ESWT , and incremental cycle ergometer test ) were reported by most studies assessing these tests , providing patients were familiarized with them beforeh and .
The 6MWT , ISWT , and particularly the ESWT were reported to be sensitive to therapeutic intervention .
Exercise tests are often used to evaluate the functional status of patients with COPD .
However , to the best of our knowledge , a comprehensive systematic comparison of these tests has not been performed .
We systematic ally review ed studies reporting the repeatability and /or reproducibility of these tests , and studies comparing their sensitivity to therapeutic intervention .