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 .
The Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial.
STUDY OBJECTIVES Pulmonary rehabilitation is an established treatment in patients with chronic lung disease but is not widely utilized . Most trials have been conducted in single centers . The National Emphysema Treatment Trial ( NETT ) provided an opportunity to evaluate pulmonary rehabilitation in a large cohort of patients who were treated in centers throughout the United States . DESIGN Prospect i ve observational study of cohort prior to r and omization in a multicenter clinical trial . SETTING University-based clinical centers and community-based satellite pulmonary rehabilitation programs . PATIENTS AND INTERVENTION A total of 1,218 patients with severe emphysema underwent pulmonary rehabilitation before and after r and omization to lung volume reduction surgery ( LVRS ) or continued medical management .  Rehabilitation was conducted at 17 NETT centers supplemented by 539 satellite centers . MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Lung function , exercise tolerance , dyspnea , and quality of life were evaluated at regular intervals . Significant ( p < 0.001 ) improvements were observed consistently in exercise ( cycle ergometry , 3.1 W ; 6-min walk test distance , 76 feet ) , dyspnea ( University of California , San Diego Shortness of Breath Question naire score , -3.2 ; Borg breathlessness score : breathing cycle , -0.8 ; 6-min walk , -0.5 ) and quality of life ( St. George Respiratory Question naire score , -3.5 ; Quality of Well-Being Scale score , + 0.035 ; Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form score : physical health summary , + 1.3 ; mental health summary , + 2.0 ) . Patients who had not undergone prior rehabilitation improved more than those who had . In multivariate models , only prior rehabilitation status predicted changes after rehabilitation . In 20 % of patients , exercise level changed sufficiently after rehabilitation to alter the NETT subgroup predictive of outcome . Overall , changes after rehabilitation did not predict differential mortality or improvement in exercise ( primary outcomes ) by treatment group . CONCLUSIONS The NETT experience demonstrates the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with severe emphysema who were treated in a national cross-section of programs . Pulmonary rehabilitation plays an important role in preparing and selecting patients for surgical interventions such as LVRS
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 .