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 .
Validation and comparison of reference equations for the 6-min walk distance test
Exercise impairment as measured by the 6-min walk distance ( 6MWD ) test afflicts many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) and is known to predict mortality . Reference equations for the 6MWD in adults have been published but not yet vali date d. The present authors prospect ively followed 1,379 COPD patients for 55±30 months and tested the predictive value of the baseline 6MWD in metres , the 6MWD work ( kg·m−1 ) and as a percentage of predicted values the 6MWD in meters according to two reference equations . All-cause mortality was the validating outcome . The best threshold values were identified for each of the tests using receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curves . The threshold values obtained were : 350 m for the 6MWD , 25,000 kg·m−1 for the 6MWD work , and 67 and 54 % predicted for the two reference equations . All modalities of the testing were similar at predicting COPD mortality and correlated well with the 6MWD test . In conclusion , all modalities of testing predict mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease equally well . In the 6-min walk distance test , a value < 350 m is associated with increased mortality and should be regarded as abnormal
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 .