Method ological factors affecting 6MWD include track length , encouragement , supplemental oxygen and walking aids .
Supplemental oxygen also affects ISWT and ESWT performance .
Responsiveness was moderate to high for all tests , with greater responsiveness to interventions that included exercise training .
The findings of this review demonstrate that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are robust tests of functional exercise capacity in adults with chronic respiratory disease
This systematic review examined the measurement properties of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , incremental shuttle walk test ( ISWT ) and endurance shuttle walk test ( ESWT ) in adults with chronic respiratory disease .
Portable liquid oxygen and exercise ability in severe respiratory disability.
BACKGROUND : The development of portable liquid oxygen systems , capable of delivering high flow rate oxygen for long periods , justifies re assessment of the value of supplemental oxygen to aid exercise tolerance in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency . The type of exercise test and the low oxygen flow rates previously used may account for the variable and often poor responses to supplemental oxygen reported in earlier studies . METHODS : The walking tolerance of 30 patients with severe respiratory disability was measured while they were breathing air and increasing doses of supplemental oxygen ( 2 , 4 , 6 1/min ) by using both the st and ard six minute walking test and an endurance walking test . To assess the initial learning effect and repeatability of the walking tests , three six minute walks and three endurance walks were performed on day 1 and a single walk of each type on days 2 , 3 , and 14 . In addition , oxygen dosing studies were performed on days 2 and 3 after the initial baseline walking tests . Each dosing study comprised four endurance walking tests or four six minute walking tests with patients breathing either air at a flow rate of 4 1/min from a portable cylinder or supplemental oxygen at a flow rate of 2 , 4 or 6 1/min from a portable liquid oxygen supply . The order of the tests was r and omised . Walking distance with each flow rate of oxygen was compared with walking distance with patients carrying cylinder air and for the initial unburdened walks . Breathlessness was assessed by visual analogue scoring on completion of each walk . RESULTS : Exercise ability and breathlessness were significantly improved with supplemental oxygen and this benefit outweighed the reduction in performance result ing from carrying the portable device . Supplemental oxygen at flow rates of 2 , 4 , and 6 1/min increased mean endurance walking distances by 37.9 % , 67.7 % and 85.0 % and six minute walking distances by 19.2 % , 34.5 % , and 36.3 % by comparison with distances when the patient was carrying air with a flow rate of 4 1/min . The additional work of carrying the portable gas supply reduced endurance walking distance by 22.2 % and six minute walking distance by 14.1 % by comparison with a baseline unburdened walk . Comparison of supplemental oxygen at 2 , 4 , and 6 1/min with the baseline unburdened performance showed increased endurance walking distances of 7.3 % , 30.4 % , and 43.9 % and six minute walking distances of 2.3 % , 15.5 % , and 17.0 % . Walking distance was increased by more than 50 % by comparison with an unburdened walk in seven patients with the endurance walking test but in only three patients with the six minute walking test . The benefit was similar in patients with obstructive and with interstitial lung disease . Individual responses were variable and only desaturation during the baseline walk in patients with obstructive lung disease had any predictive value for benefit with oxygen . CONCLUSION : As there was no clear relation between response to oxygen therapy and the patients ' characteristics , assessment for supplemental oxygen therapy will depend on exercise testing . It is suggested that portable oxygen should be considered only if a patient shows a 50 % improvement in exercise ability with high flow rate oxygen ( 4 - 6 1/min ) by comparison with an unburdened walk
Method ological factors affecting 6MWD include track length , encouragement , supplemental oxygen and walking aids .
Supplemental oxygen also affects ISWT and ESWT performance .
Responsiveness was moderate to high for all tests , with greater responsiveness to interventions that included exercise training .
The findings of this review demonstrate that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are robust tests of functional exercise capacity in adults with chronic respiratory disease
This systematic review examined the measurement properties of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , incremental shuttle walk test ( ISWT ) and endurance shuttle walk test ( ESWT ) in adults with chronic respiratory disease .